Hyperdimension Half
by Vision Rebirth
Summary: Set 3 years after Neptunia mk2. Five years after he left Nerima, Ranma is mysteriously sent flying to the world of Gamindustri following a close encounter with his father. During his twisted journey to find a way home, Ranma encounters new friends, new experiences and new bonds...which makes him question as to whether or not he truly wants to return. Potential Ranma x Noire.
1. Act I - Welcome to Gamindustri

**DISCLAIMER ::** I do not own Ranma Half or Hyperdimension Neptunia. Ranma Half belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and the Hyperdimension Neptunia series belongs to Compile Heart and Idea Factory.

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**Hyperdimension Half**

_**Act I – Welcome to Gamindustri**_

Within the busy and ongoing passenger labyrinth known as Tokyo Station, the clock had just reached the 5 minute mark past noon. The bee swarms of departing and arriving travellers increased as the seconds passed. There wasn't any sign of the station becoming less busy from the looks of it. Most likely, a few trains would be delayed.

Such realities of a major train station in one of Japan's largest metropolitan cities made a certain black haired martial artist groan. In fact, he was seated against an indoor column adjacent to a nearby magazine stall.

Above him, the flashing signs of departures and rail terminals hung high as he carefully eyed his map while the seemingly endless flocks of people continued on. These very individuals, constantly busy with their inner thoughts of the challenges dealt with daily life, remained ignorant of what ran through this very martial artist's head.

He stands at a reigning height of 182 centimeters and he recently just turned 23. His name is Ranma Saotome. Or, at least his name was Saotome. He gave that name up a long time ago or so he claimed. He was all but a ronin at this very moment. Despite this, he preferred this way of life over the one he once led in Nerima.

Five years have passed since then. Five years ago, Ranma Saotome formally chose to disown himself from the Saotome line. Of course, he did it without anyone else's knowledge, considering the grief his family and potential in-laws would have given him. Especially his honor loving mother: Nodoka Saotome.

In a twist of irony, Ranma chose to live the very life Genma wanted him to avoid: one without any honor or conviction. He was willing to live honorlessly if it meant keeping his own freedom. He gave everything to his father. He sacrificed so much, more than how much his father claimed to have done so. His father did afterall sign a seppoku pact without his own consent. His involvement with the Jusenkyo Springs didn't help much either.

None of it mattered to the martial artist anymore. In fact, he simply went by Ranma. Not Ranma Saotome. Just Ranma. Albeit, when official documents were needed from him during travels, Nabiki Tendou secretly provided him enough documents with altered last family names. Having connections to Tokyo's social workers was one of the charms of being an infamous information shark, as Nabiki would have said.

Although he left Nerima completely without any notification towards the others and as to where he would go, Nabiki was among the few people who he had let in on his escape plan. Nabiki Tendou was notorious for her own reputation as Nerima's Ice Queen and the ward's local info shark. Why Ranma, who had been scammed by her so many times, would trust her with classified documents to help hide his identity would have been beyond the understanding of others.

In reality, Nabiki had sympathised with Ranma's plight. If anything, it was thanks to him that she managed to conjure up plenty of profit through the years. Ignoring his negative views towards her, he accepted the Ice Queen's help. Needless to say, it worked and her efforts have helped him out this entire time.

Kasumi Tendou, the middle sister of the Tendou family, agreed to keep Ranma's departure a secret from the rest. She has pushed Nabiki to provide him with extra cash to send when the situation called for it. He could only do so much to earn money on his own while on the road. It was thanks to the two of them that the majority of the Nerima ward was oblivious to his whereabouts.

Looking back at the five years he has been absent from Nerima, Ranma didn't miss it one bit. He didn't miss Akane the most specifically. Time after time, he always did what he could to be of help and usefulness to his so called fiancée. In the end, those efforts were vain and after that fateful failed wedding, the wild horse had enough of it. It wasn't his overly violent fiancée. He had enough of the Nerima Wrecking Crew's assortment of weirdos. In other words, the likes of Ryouga, Mousse and the Blue Blunder were the prime offenders to his eyes. He wasn't going to take any more crap, whether his rivals would wallow over it or not.

During the course of the past five years, Ranma wandered all over Japan while taking up different jobs and identities thanks to Nabiki's cover-up. Up until now, he was grateful that he hasn't run into Ryouga or any other travelling rival. Even if they were nearby, Ranma was unrecognizable by then. After he left Nerima, Ranma cut off his ponytail as symbol of his renewed self. Over the years, he let his hair grow up to his shoulders and bangs of his front hair have flattened as time went by.

(a/n: Think something like Gaius's hairstyle from Tales of Xillia for older Ranma)

The voice system in Tokyo Station called out, "Next train to Kyoto…Next train to Kyoto…passengers move to Gate…"

The announcement was muffled by the crowds' constant chatter but Ranma managed to get a good look at the gate number through the screen. It was almost time to leave. He only visited Tokyo that day for one of his secret meetings with Nabiki regarding further documents and potential jobs. With his situation, Ranma was hoping that he could save up enough and travel to America.

"Right," the martial artist muttered to himself, "Guess it's time to go."

"Are you sure that man saw him here?!"

"Of course, you foolish panda! The agents we hired couldn't have made a mistake!"

"He better be here then! Once I see him, I'll drag him back to Nerima and make him beg for forgiveness in front of his mother and all of us!"

The martial artist went pale. _"Shit…are you serious? No way…no way…I've avoided them up until now, how did they find out!?"_

Ranma could sense that the familiar voices were only a few meters away. The surrounding crowds of passengers obscured their view so the martial artist was safe for the time being. That would change soon and he needed to think.

"_Did Nabiki sell me out? Nah…she'd gain nothing out of it. Hell, me going back to Nerima would make her life harder and she knows it. With Kasumi watching her, it'd be even more impossible. Nabiki has no reason to snitch as well. Then who…!?"_

"…How Genma? It was a matter of luck." The first muffled voice from afar stated to the other, "To think the documents were in Nabiki's room. That girl…what has she been up to?!"

"It doesn't matter to me, Soun! Punish your daughter later! It's him we need back!"

"_Hiding places were never her strongest point." _Ranma cursed inside his head. The voices were getting closer. Soon, the crowds would no longer hinder the view of the two people Ranma despised the most. He had 10 seconds at max.

"_I could create a ki blast…no…the damages would be too much and I could get in trouble on top of that…what do I do…squirm my way through the crowds!? I could just jump far from here but then they'd see me...Think!"_

The very moment Ranma decided that it was curtains for his journey, a vague and dim azure orb surrounded him and…

"…He's not here!? We're near the train gate! How could he not be here!"

"Let's look further, Soun! We have Nabiki's documents. We'll track him down even to the ends of the earth."

His last fixed expression would soon hold no value or meaning…Literally.

* * *

The martial artist slowly fished himself back to consciousness. His eyelids felt heavy. It felt as if large bags were weighing them down. His head was in a state of seemingly endless spirals of vertigo and confusion. The last thing he remembered was hearing the two voices he dreaded. He would have been more disgusted to see their stingy expressions. No, stingy would be too kind to describe his father. Greedy was more like it.

The question remained: where was he? He sat up almost immediately and realized that he was inside a hotel room. "Am I still in Tokyo?"

He rushed to the window view adjacent to his bed. What he saw was far from Tokyo. The Wild Horse cussed to himself, "What the hell?"

On the window view was a seemingly fairy tale themed landscape. Rich and lush green grass plains surrounded the peculiar looking castles and cottages that blessed the city. There was a light amount of snowfall which was made evident by the frost that covered the window glass.

Ranma spoke, "Alright. I am definitely not in Tokyo anymore. Hell…I hate to say this…but am I still on Earth?"

Everything seemed different. Looking at the window view, he noticed that some of the businesses, stores and signs were written in Japanese while others were filled with English or French text. He knew for certain that he was far from Tokyo and possibly, from the world he knows.

"I must be imagining things," he said, pacing around the room, "Moments ago, the stupid panda and his just as crazy friend were inches from spotting me. Then suddenly, here I am. This has to be some stupid trick done by that old pervy fart."

Ranma took several more minutes to calm down. _"This has to be a hotel room. I mean…there are hotel business cards on the desk next to me and those towels have the hotel's insignia…if this is a hotel room…then whose room is this?"_

"Oh…you're awake! Thank goodness!"

The martial artist became alert. The room door opened slowly. A beautiful looking, blue-haired and red-eyed girl entered and faced him. She was wearing what seemed to be technological headphones, her outfit consisted of a black midriff with a ribbon placed behind her waste and above anything else, her expression was that of both bewilderment and curiosity.

He reassured her, "Ah, yes. I think I'm okay. How long was I asleep?"

The girl slowly answered, "Three days."

"Three days!? Are you being serious?!" Ranma widened his eyes. The idol stepped back upon the sound of his raised voice which intimidated her.

She cried out in surprise, "I'm sorry, I think I'll just-"

"Wait," he called on her calmly, "Sorry. I'll speak softer from now on. I just got a lot of things going on in my mind at the moment… I have so many questions I want answered. First off…where did you find me…and second off…where the heck am I?"

She stopped herself from sprinting out of hotel room. While her look of uneasiness remained, she did answer him, "You see, I was in the middle of my tour in Lowee's capital city, where you are right now. I just finished up a concert and you suddenly…well, you suddenly just fell down in front of me from the sky."

"Fell…from the sky?" Ranma repeated her description while dumbfounded, "…sounds like a cheesy fanfiction."

Ignoring that indirect and ironic nudge, she continued, "I called for help from Lowee's authorities. They said the nearest hospital in the capital was far from where I saw you fall. Your conditions were really serious too and you wouldn't have made it. So they had to settle for a nearby place of treatment. This hotel."

"Were my conditions that serious?" he questioned her. He looked down and realized that there were bandages around his chest. Ranma himself was superhuman by normal individual standards. He has fought plenty of powerful opponents in the past so it surprised him that a fall would cause him that much damage. _"Guess it was a bad fall but damn…" _

"I have another friend here: a nurse from Planeptune. She was the one who treated you. She happened to be staying inside this hotel so she managed to treat your wounds. I'm the one who paid for this extra hotel room. My friend's going to take you to Lowee's actual hospital later in order to check on your condition. So take it easy, mister." she reassured him softly.

"Wait a damn minute." Ranma blurted out, "Planeptune? Lowee? What the heck are you talking about?"

The blue haired girl remained confused, "Hm? I figured that you were a local from here or from Planeptune or Lastation…but…you really don't know where you are? Do you have amnesia perhaps?"

"My memory is completely a-okay, thank you very much." He sarcastically replied, "I'm serious. A few minutes ago I was in a train station inside Tokyo waiting for my train and now I'm here."

"Tokyo…what's that?" the girl asked. "I've never heard of such a place. Is it a city or a village in Planeptune's region or-"

Ranma cut her off, "What I'm saying is, I'm not from this world! Or at least I don't know where the hell I am! You haven't heard of Tokyo so clearly I'm probably nowhere near Earth!"

The blue haired beauty was taken aback by his outburst. She stepped back a bit and muttered, "And…you wouldn't doubt that this place isn't your homeworld?"

"Please. With all I've been through in my life, I'll believe anything at this point. Especially from someone who has never heard of Tokyo." He said bluntly.

Not knowing what else to do, the girl bowed slightly as if to apologize. She then suggested, "I'll tell you what. I'll take you to the capital's main Basilicom. Maybe you can get some answers from them."

"Basilicom?" Ranma's interrogative backchannel echoed the room.

The girl sighed hard, "Look…It'll all make sense. I'm sorry I can't make any sense of the situation for you right now. It's so sudden for me."

"Just cut the crap and tell me where I am, please." He insisted.

"If you say so. You're currently inside a hotel in Lowee's capital city. There are four main nations in the world we live in, Gamindustri. Lowee is one of them. The other three are Lastation, Planeptune and Leanbox. I'm from Leanbox by the way. I'm currently conducting an international music tour." She took a deep breath following that explanation. "I'm not much help when it comes to this. It's best if I take you to Lowee's Basilicom. It'll make much more sense."

"….tch…I have no idea if I can digest what you just told me…If you insist. I want a detailed explanation." He shrugged. "I never did get your name by the way. What is it?"

"Ah." She gasped. "Where are my manners? I'm very sorry. My name is 5pb! I'm the local idol and songstress from Leanbox. I'm currently doing an international concert tour around the various cities in Gamindustry."

"An idol?" Ranma replied, "So you're essentially a celebrity then."

"In Leanbox. I just started my international tour recently!" she downplayed it somewhat to avoid coming off as arrogant, "It's no big deal! I'm popular in Leanbox but I chose this tour to share my music with thousands of others! Singing is my passion afterall…"

"Is that so?" he said while tapping his fingers on the bed canopy. "My name's Ranma. Just…call me Ranma. Nothing else."

"It's…uhhh…nice to meet you, Mr. Ranma…" 5pb replied back.

"Let's just cut the chit chat." Ranma said, "I just want answers. So, this place…the Basilicom…what is it? A government building or what?"

5pb informed him, "Oh, not that. A Basilicom is an administrative building, however, it's also the home to this nation's goddess."

"Wait…goddess….goddess…did I hear you say that correctly? Did you actually say goddess?" Ranma scowled.

"Yes, a goddess." 5pb smiled, "You'll meet this nation's Oracle as well. She'll provide you with information in the situation that Lady Blanc is busy. Compa should be back in a few hours so after that, we'll go to the hospital."

"Compa? Who's she?" he asked.

"Ah, of course. Compa's the nurse who treated you. She's from Planeptune but she's in Lowee at the moment because of a medical convention downtown. You should be able to meet her in a few hours." She explained. "So, let's get going then."

"Gotcha." Ranma winced and followed the beautiful idol out of his hotel room.

"_Tch…what a day. First, my trip to Kyoto's delayed by an hour. Second, crazy panda and his psycho best buddy came so close to finding me and now this…I better get some answers." _He thought.

Ranma didn't put this into consideration: this world was to become new home. He would grow to cherish this new home and the people who live in it.

_**Hyperdimension Half, Act I - End**_

To be continued :: _**Hyperdimension Half, Act II – The Wild Horse and Lowee**_

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_**Author's Notes ::**_

This is the first time I've uploaded a story to this site in a long while. I've been so busy these past few years. Of course, that isn't exactly the reason why I've discontinued my other stories. My Touhou / Hayate no Gotoku crossover felt badly written due to errors with the Touhou canon, I've lost interest with Infinite Stratos as a series and I am considering on rewriting my Rosenkreuzstilette x Ranma crossover.

Anyways, this is my first time doing a Neptunia fanfic…and I thought why not a crossover. I'm open to any reviewer suggestions as to how Ranma would get around the wacky life of Gamindustry and as to how the Nerima Wrecking Crew members (Ryouga, Mousse, Kuno) would be entangled in Gamindustri during their search for Ranma.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading this and please, leave a review.


	2. Act II - The Wild Horse and Lowee

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Ranma Half and Neptunia. They belong to their respective owners.

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**Hyperdimension Half**

_**Act II –The Wild Horse and Lowee**_

Ranma made his way through the fairy tail-like streets of Lowee's snowy capital with 5pb slowly trailing him. It was nothing like he has ever seen before. Mushroom-like cottages coated with snow neatly lined several blocks of the suburban areas in the capital. The taller buildings typically consisted of dome-like structures, their windows and roofs in a variety of colours. It felt as if the martial artist was looking at a colour-filled storybook wonderland.

"Yup, you wont find this at where I'm from." Ranma remarked with his arms crossed, "Unless you were in a theme park that is."

5pb observed the martial artist's peaked curiosity towards Lowee's dazzling capital city. His mood went from agitated and confused to slightly interested and perplexed. All thanks to the sight of this new and exotic environment for this certain martial artist.

"A lot of other cities near Lowee's boundaries are like this," the idol explained as if to act as a tour guide of some sorts, "However, the capital is best known for this style of architecture."

"Say," Ranma interrupted 5pb's commentary, "I noticed while we were walking around that the city's built on a river…"

"That's right," she replied and added, "The river diverges into two paths once it passes through the city. However, it runs from the alps nearby the capital."

"Must be a pretty place to live and all that," he muttered, "Surrounded by this light daily snow, these alps and all these fairy tail buildings. Ah hell, that's not saying much though. I'd rather live anywhere than Nerima at this point."

"Huh? What's Nerima?" the idol's curiosity was peaked.

He brushed her off, "Nothing. It's nothing. Just forget that I said anything."

"Fine…have it your way," the idol sighed.

She thought to herself, _"I'm glad that he's feeling slightly better but…he's so unreadable…a few minutes ago he was interrogating me and now he's looking around as if our walk to the Basilicom has turned into a tourist attraction….maybe I'm being too critically minded. He did suddenly land here…and if what he says is true about being from another world, then I…"_

"Hello! Earth to 5pb!" Ranma raised his voice near the idol's ear as if to snap her out from her thoughtful trance.

"Ah!" she shrieked, "I'm sorry! I sort of spaced out and…"

"Is this the Basilicom?" he pointed towards a majestic castle-like structure which was surrounded by gigantic walls. It was the largest structure in the capital, no doubt. It could be seen from a distance, even in the city's outskirts. Of course, fortified walls surrounded this castle structure. It was no surprise to Ranma. If these so called Basilicoms were truly the houses to the goddesses, such security would be expected.

"_So, it all boils down to this so called Basilicom and this nation's goddess. If what this idol here says is true, then this goddess may give me the answers I need. This all better not be some stupid martial artist ki illusion conjured up by the old fart or Cologne. I doubt it though…if the old fart was around in the train station that day, I would have sensed his pervy antics. Especially Cologne, considering the ki she gives off." _He lost himself in deep thought.

"Hello, Earth to Ranma!" 5pb sang near his ear.

He widened his eyes, somewhat startled. He turned to her, "Ah right. We're supposed to be going inside now. I'm sorry. I kind of lost myself in thought."

"The same thing happened to me," she replied, "You don't have to apologize, Ranma."

"Just forget it," he reassured her, "What's important now is getting answers from this Basilicom place. The question is, how do we get in?"

5pb informed him, "I was actually an ally to the goddesses and their younger sisters, believe it or not. Three years ago, I journeyed alongside them in taking down ASIC and their leader, Arfoire. Of course, I don't really boast about it but I thought I should just let you know."

"Wait." Ranma asked, "Who the heck is Arfoire? What the hell is ASIC? And did you just say…their younger sisters?"

5pb shrugged it off, "Don't think about all of this for now. You said yourself that what's important right now is getting answers from the Basilicom. My explanations would just confuse you more. Just forget I said anything until we actually get an audience."

"You're the boss," he sarcastically remarked.

* * *

Both martial artist and idol approached one of the main gates of the Basilicom's wall. Next to the gate was a security post with an on-duty male guard. He overlooked the two, recognizing the idol immediately.

"Miss 5pb!" the guard exclaimed with an enthusiastic voice, "What brings you here!? Have you come to grace the Basilicom with a concert!?"

"Silly, you know I already performed here yesterday." 5pb commented, "Thanks for the compliment though…no, I'm not here for that…this man wants an audience with the Oracle and maybe the goddess herself."

"An audience?" the guard back channelled, "Lady Blanc may be busy today. The Oracle however is free. I don't know about our goddess so you'll have to confirm it with the Oracle herself. Ah and sir, if you don't mind, considering that the Basilicom is the house of our goddess, a security check will be needed."

"Lay it on me," Ranma casually answered. He gave the Basilicom guard his bag, which consisted of mostly documents Nabiki had conjured for him, a few thousand yen bills and old souvenirs which had picked up from China.

The Basilicom guard thought, _"This currency isn't the one used in Gamindustri…and what's this Beijing place…could he be the person who Miss Cave told me about…she did say that 5pb found him first…"_

The guard nodded and gave the martial artist his belongings back. "You're good to go. Please enjoy your stay inside the Basilicom."

With that, the pair entered the gates of the Basilicom. A few minutes after, a voice spoke to him, "So, what did you think?"

"It's as you said, Miss Cave. That man…I feel a really dangerous energy within him." The guard commented, "I'm surprised how calm he was when I told him that security check was required."

"I don't think he's a hostile threat," the female voice replied, "I did ask this of you because I was curious. Any normal human would have not survived the impact of a fall that severe. I'm also worried for 5pb but he hasn't caused her any trouble. If that was the case, he'd have to answer to me."

"As expected from Leanbox's head of security," the guard nervously laughed, "Miss Cave, are you enjoying your stay in Lowee?"

"I'm happy as long as 5pb continues to enjoy herself," the voice replied, "…it's quite funny though…if we were talking about 5pb before she met Nepgear…I don't think she'd be able to even stomach the idea of bringing a mysterious stranger to the Basilicom. She's changed so much since our battle against Arfoire."

"Any further orders, Miss Cave?" he asked.

The voice ordered, "None. You may rest at ease. I'll be entering the Basilicom later in fact. Keep up the good work, soldier!"

Her voice soon faded away.

* * *

Ranma and 5pb made their way through a large Cathedral-like area within the Basilicom. The architecture was more or less technological for what was supposed to be the headquarters of the goddess and her servants. Ranma eyed his surroundings carefully while he took a set in one of the church benches that faced the digital altar.

"So, this is the Basilicom, huh? Not too shabby." He stated.

"Shhhh!" 5pb scolded, "Please, show a bit of respect. The goddesses are friends of mine but even so, know your place."

"I'm the person who wants some answers here," he rested his head behind his arms as he answered her, "I've heard from a few Basilicom soldiers on the way here that your goddess…is apparently hotheaded."

"Not always!" she huffed, "Don't make any impressions based on a few banter by the guards. Lady Blanc is a gentle hearted person and they know it too. Really. Assuming you don't provoke her, she's a very nice hearted goddess. It's just she doesn't talk that much."

"Riiiiiiiiight." He sarcastically replied.

She glared somewhat in response to his cynical tone, "Jeez, what's with that attitude?"

He snapped back to his senses and nodded, "I apologize if I was being rude. Just…I used to associate myself with a short-tempered girl in the past. A girl who my idiot of a father thought he could pass off as a fiancée for me. In the end, she did nothing but blame me for everything even after everything I've done for her. I dare say she's probably the main reason I left Nerima."

"Now I'm curious," 5pb commented, "What is this Nerima you've been mentioning? And who's this Akane girl you speak of?"

He ignored her at first. Then he replied to her, with somewhat cold eyes, "Just ignore what I said again. I'm really sorry. This is just me thinking aloud. I don't want to involve you in any of my personal affairs."

She wanted to keep asking him but in the end, she felt as if the subject would have been too touchy to mention. She apologized, "I'm sorry…I'm just worried about you, that's all…when you mention that town, you always seem…"

The idol couldn't continue as she had suddenly slipped on what was a wet area of the church aisles. Turns out the janitors had forgotten to put the iconic Wet Floor sign near the benches. "Kyaaa!"

"Watch out!" He raised his voice in alert.

THUD. 5pb reopened her eyes and she realized that she was being held up by someone. It took her several more seconds to assess the situation and state she was in. She was leaning back against Ranma's arms, which had prevented her fall. Thankfully, he had caught her in the nick of time. His face inches from hers, the martial artist asked, "Are you alright?"

A shade of deep red filled 5pb's face as she thought, _"He's…he's too close!"_

The idol picked herself up from the martial artist's arms. She reassured him, "I'm not hurt. Thank you very much…Ranma."

"Did I interrupt something?" a curious but motherly voice called out from the altar.

They turned to see a beautiful, mature-looking and bespectacled woman of average height. She had long light blue hair that went past her shoulders and she wore what appeared to be a crimson coloured academic graduation outfit. She held on to a bundle of important documents against her chest as she observed the scene before her.

"Miss Mina!" 5pb bowed, "Good timing. The man I told you about yesterday wants to have an audience with you or Lady Blanc. Is she available at the moment?"

"She's inside the building," the woman, known as Mina, informed her, "However…she's engulfed in the middle of her daily reading sessions. The twins are out in town playing so I'm filling in for her at this moment. Ah, I forgot to introduce myself to our guest, how unlike of me. Greetings. My name is Mina Nishizawa. I am the Oracle of Lowee's Basilicom, the right hand woman to Lady Blanc."

"My name's Ranma…just call me Ranma. It's nice to meet you, Mina." He replied back, while he remained curious of her outfit in his mind.

Mina stated, "Now that we've gotten the introductions over with, what do you want addressed, Mr. Ranma?"

Ranma took a deep breath and began, "Well, it's a long story but I may as well begin. You see…"

_56 minutes later…_

"So, you come from a place known as Tokyo…in a country called Japan," Mina curiously wondered, "…I see…and you claim that you were only in the train station minutes before you awoke to Miss 5pb here…she's the person who found you from that fall over 3 days ago…You were unconscious for days so you most likely just lost your sense of time during your critical state."

"Yeah, I guess you can say it that way," he said. "So, the world I'm in is called Gamindustri. There are four main nations in this world: Planeptune, Lastation, Leanbox and the one we're in right now, Lowee. Is this all right?"

"There are other small countries in this world, although." Mina informed him, "One of our capital's top alchemists comes from a small country where people of similar occupation hail from."

"Okay, I got all of that fancy crap over with," he shrugged, "Now, how the hell do I get home?"

"I regret to inform you but me and my personal staff have no idea," she broke the news out to him with a tint of regret in her voice.

"What?!" he staggered, "You don't know!?"

"Well…" Mina stated, "We don't even know how you were sent to this world and I have personally never heard of your homeworld. All we know is that you fell but the Basilicom's top military guard didn't detect any dimensional disturbance. They just saw something fall from a great height, which was you…this is as far as me and my staff know. I am deeply sorry, Mr. Ranma."

"Just great…" Ranma groaned in annoyance, "So…I'm stuck here potentially?"

"Not exactly," she tried to calm the martial artist down, "Perhaps Lastation is your best next option. The capital city is known for its technological advances. It's a very industrial capital city and the world's top scientists and technicians gather there. You may find better answers with Lastation's Oracle, Kei Jinguji."

"So there's not much to do here then," Ranma sighed, "Oh well, you tried. Thanks so much for the explanation anyways…So, I'll be heading off to this Lastation place next…"

"Well, actually…" 5pb stated, her face somewhat red, "…My next tour destination is in Lastation by coincidence. You don't have any of this world's currency right now so travelling alone would be hopeless. We leave first thing tomorrow morning. My bodyguard is in the capital as well so she'll be able to accompany us."

"I'm not causing you any trouble, right?" Ranma wanted to make sure.

"Not at all!" 5pb smiled, "I want to help others…it's something that Nepgear made me realize and I don't want leave an outer-world individual like yourself out on the streets without anything."

"Thank you," he replied, "I know I gave you some shit today yet you still insist on helping me like this."

"Don't get too sentimental now," 5pb brushed him off while laughing nervously, "You're gonna make me sentimental too!"

"So it's decided, then?" Mina faced the two of them. "I'll contact Kei in advance and reserve an audience for you both in Lastation's Basilicom. For now, you two get some rest in the hotel tonight."

"Ah, I nearly forgot!" 5pb realized, "Ranma, you still need to go to the capital's medical facility to check your condition out. Compa will meet you there. Would it be okay if I just gave you directions today? I have an autograph event later so I'll meet up with you inside the hotel's lobby at 7 PM tonight."

"No problem," Ranma answered. He bowed as he and 5pb were ready to leave, "Thank you very much for the help, Mina. We'll be sure to put the information you've given us to good use."

Mina waved goodbye as they left the church area, "Please, take care of yourself, Mr. Ranma. I hope we meet again one day."

* * *

Several minutes later, a voice from behind the altar spoke, "So…that was the Ranma guy who 5pb was talking about…"

"He's quite the interesting individual, don't you think, Lady Blanc?" Mina spoke back to the voice.

The mysterious voice ordered, "...maybe…so, he'll be heading to Lastation next…"

_**Hyperdimension Half, Act II - End**_

To be Continued :: _**Hyperdimension Half, Act III – Enter the SMD Ace: Cave**_

* * *

_**Author's Notes ::**_

A fic, where I finally got past the first chapter? What a miracle. So, next chapter will mark the full debut of Compa, Blanc and most vitally, Cave. After the third chapter, it will shift back to focus as to what Ranma's rivals are doing back in Earth and it will begin the first part of the Lastation arc. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review!


	3. Act III - Enter the SMD Ace, Cave

**DISCLAIMER : **Same old, same old. I dont own Ranma Half or Hyperdimension Neptunia. They belong to their owners.

* * *

**Hyperdimension Half**

_**Act III - Enter the SMD Ace, Cave**_

Inside one of the Basilicom's underground communication halls, Mina Nishizawa stood before a large screen. On the screen was a short-haired young woman of below average height, clad in black business-like attire and holding a pile of documents against her chest. Despite this girl's short stature, she was the very individual who kept things running at Lastation's end. She was Lady Black Heart's right hand woman and the nation's top financer and treasurer. Some could even argue that she represented the law of Lastation. Her name was Kei Jinguji: the Oracle to Lastation and its goddess, Noire.

"That's the situation, am I correct?" the she summed up the information, "This Ranma individual will be heading to Lastation in a few days. Naturally, this means that I'll have to make reservations for his audience with me or Noire. Although cancelling other important audiences or delegation hearings aren't worth it for this mere stranger."

"Please, understand Kei." Mina tried to sound considerate to both sides, "I understand that you're a busy girl and that you have plenty to attend to but this man needs our help. As Oracles, it is our duty to aid the individuals who seek aid from their goddesses."

"Mina, I'd like you to see it from a more realistic scope," the all-business Oracle began, "We don't know where he's exactly from. Second, how can we be sure that he isn't lying? And thirdly, even if I could help, I have no idea how to do so unless I halt a sector of Lastation's research department for this very issue. This is, of course, something that I cannot do. I'm sorry Mina but some individual falling out of the sky does not warrant halting a sector of Lastation's production division. Our shares will drop."

"I'm not asking for much, Kei." The scholarly Oracle shot back, "At least answer his questions."

Kei paused on screen for a moment. She cleared her throat and started, "Well…actually…I may put this into consideration, Mina. I'll try to squeeze in an audience for him in this week's schedule. I won't lie. His fall does bring about several concerns that Noire has been having for the past few days."

"Concerns?" Mina widened her eyes. She urged the other Oracle, "May you please tell me more? Blanc has been in deeper thought than usual this past week. Are you saying that…"

"They're connected," Kei confirmed, "A few days ago, Noire and Blanc had a top secret exchange through the communicators. I'm going to notify Planeptune and Leanbox's Oracles and their goddesses in due time. This past week, we've been noticing…data being drained from Lowee and Lastation's main computer systems."

Mina gasped slightly, followed by another question, "Why didn't Blanc tell me or the council about this earlier?"

Kei answered, "Blanc has already notified the council this morning in a secret meeting. She kept this in the dark until today because to be honest…I don't know what's causing this. ASIC remnants are still at large around the lower sectors of the nations' cities but they aren't enough of a threat to stir something up. Furthermore, Lastation is always being updated with the most refined state of the art cyber security. My top systems have detected nothing. Yet data is being salvaged from Lowee and Lastation's systems as if they're just magically vanishing into thin air. This being the action by the other nations can be ruled out, considering that they wouldn't have this sort of technology."

"So, what does this have to do with Mr. Ranma?" Mina demanded to know, "You're not pinning him as a suspect are you? He barely knows anything about this world, let alone does he have any documents or social data which proves that he's from here. I was sceptic at first but when I met him, I realized that he wasn't lying."

"Don't be foolish," she scoffed, "I wouldn't suspect a mere outsider who fell out of nowhere. I brought this up because his fall just shows that something is up."

"Explain." Mina was succinct.

"If there was a dimensional disturbance, the barrier systems of the four nations' capital cities would have detected it, am I right? He claims he's not from this world and according to you; there is strong evidence that backs this up. However, our computers detected nothing and only Lowee's top guard are accountable as witnesses who reported him falling from a high altitude before anyone else."

"So, Ranma falling into Lowee proves that there's something actually wrong with the nations' main computer systems," she finally understood what Kei herself meant.

"Exactly," Kei crossed her arms, "I'm not suspecting him but his fall was enough of a catalyst that proves the system couldn't detect any dimension anomaly or disturbance. Answering your original question…yes, I may consider on scheduling him for an audience. After all, 'she' will be tagging along with Mr. Ranma and 5pb…representing Lowee involving this complicated matter."

Mina stammered in response to the revelation, "You mean, Lady Blanc will be…"

* * *

"Your x-rays don't show any grave or critical fracture," the doctor explained, as he looked over Ranma's examination results, "You had a few scratches when you fell but the scans don't detect internal bleeding, fractured bones or any severe form of injury. This is amazing. Only the goddesses or some superhuman would be able to withstand such a fall. Given, you were in serious condition when 5pb and the authorities spotted you but it seems as if your wounds…just healed upon treatment. I've never seen anything like this in my medical career!"

Ranma, seated on the doctor's examination table, remarked calmly, "Hah, maybe I was just lucky."

"Regardless, this is a miracle, Mr. Ranma…" the doctor adjusted his glasses, "Don't strain yourself too much and you'll recover soon enough. Don't worry about the expenses. They've been provided by Miss 5pb herself."

"Thank you so much," he bowed after getting off the examination table, "Well, I'll be off now. Have a good day, doc."

Ranma shut the door behind him, exiting to one of the hospital's many waiting rooms. "Whew, glad that's over with."

He adjusted his eyes to the time and realized that it was already 30 minutes past 4 in the afternoon. "I still have two hours and a half…"

"Mr. Ranma…are you Mr. Ranma?"

Ranma diverted his attention to the right, to see a pink haired girl facing him. She had on a light coloured outfit with a red mini skirt and a chocker around her neck. The girl adjusted her hair band and bowed, "I'm sooo sorry! I wanted to meet up with you before the examination but I had an intern meeting with my superiors in the hospital. You must have gotten lost!"

"Nah, I managed." He casually answered back, "Hell, I'm pretty sure I can manage with directions compared to that pig."

"What pig?" she questioned. Ranma shrugged it off, "Ah! Nothing! Forget it. Anyways…you're Compa…right?"

"Uh huh!" she beamed brightly while placing one hand on the right side of her hip, "My name is Compa. I'm a nurse in training from Planeptune! Well, I used to be a nurse in training. By paper and official documentation, I'm now a full fledged rookie nurse. However, I feel that I still have a ton to learn in this huge world before I can call myself a true nurse. I want to keep improving though!"

"Then let me officially introduce myself. The name's Ranma. Just…just call me Ranma. You're doing fine, rest assured." He stretched his arms out and yawned briefly, "You managed to fix me up like that. This is long overdue but thank you so much for treating me when I was in a dire mess."

"P-please," Compa stammered, "D-don't thank me! I was just doing my job. It's only obligatory that I save lives! I am a nurse. I did what I needed to do."

"Well, now that's over with," Ranma assumed, "I assume that you have to return to your medical event in the capital?"

"It ended just recently, to be honest." She confessed, "I came to the hospital for a final evaluation meeting from my superior doctors. I did good, according to their reports. I'm so glad!"

"Congratulations then," he smirked. "So, you'll be going off to celebrate or what?"

"Truth to be told," the pink headed nurse explained, "I'm going to be heading to Lastation next. I was going to return to Planeptune tomorrow morning but then I got an urgent phone call from a friend of mine. She's a guild member who lives nearby my place in Planeptune. She says that she wants to meet up with me in Lastation. I don't know why but she just told me to come ASAP. So I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

"What a coincidence," he nudged with a tint of curiosity, "I'm leaving for Lastation tomorrow morning as well with 5pb and her bodyguard. Why don't you come travel with us?"

"I don't know about that," she answered hesitantly, "I don't want to slow you or Miss 5pb down. Besides, I'm more than capable of handling myself in the wild and through the dungeons. I'll be okay."

"No need to be shy," the martial artist stood against a wall in the waiting room, "I mean…if we're all going to Lastation, why don't we just go together? You said that you know Miss 5pb and she'll be more than glad to have your company. Well, what do you say about that?"

"_Well…I haven't had the time to see most of my friends,"_ Compa recollected in her thoughts, _"Ever since we defeated Arfoire three years ago, all of us have become so busy. Me and Iffy still see Ge-Ge and Nep-Nep everyday but that's as far as it goes…Noire and Uni are busy nowadays in their own land. Blanc's been catching up on old times with her younger sister and Vert's been occupied with both gaming and her duties. Nisa and Gust have been travelling over Gamindustri fighting crime, Falcom visits Planeptune every now and then…maybe tagging along won't be so bad."_

Compa finally answered, "Alright. Only if 5pb is okay with it."

"I'm sure the girl wont mind," Ranma reassured her, "So…where do I meet up with you?"

She decided, "I'll be in the hotel at around 6 PM. I just have to make some final preparations in the capital. I'll see you until then, Ranma. I was very nice meeting you!"

"Same for my end." He grinned at the ditz, "I'll see you at six. Take care of yourself."

After the he and the nurse in training parted ways, Ranma left the hospital. As he stepped out of the main entrance of the primary medical building, he took note of the orange sunset that began to set in. The melancholy yet brightly dim colour merged smoothly with the light snow fall that accompanied this scenery. He muttered to himself, "It's beautiful."

He spent such a long time in Nerima to the point where he had nearly forgotten a tranquil moment like this. It was no surprise, given his chaotic lifestyle in Nerima. The fiery martial artist took a short while to appreciate the snowfall that sunset moment. He crossed his arms and jokingly said to himself, "Heh. Who knows. Maybe if Lastation doesn't have the answers I'm looking for and vice versa, I may as well just settle down and get a job here!"

Realizing what he has just said, the martial artist chose to scold himself in his thoughts, _"No! Bad Ranma! That is not the course of action I want to tackle. Nabiki already helped get those documents ready! I've been saving up for years so I can move to America! I just found a good job opportunity in Kyoto and not only does Panda face and his honor loving but buddy find my ass…this happens. I don't want any more delay with my life. I've been letting that Panda push me around ever since the day I was born. All of it was because I chose to obey his hide. I never got the taste of true self-obligation until I left that hellhole Nerima…..but…"_

He slumped down and sat on the stairway path that led back down to Lowee's main roads. _"Would it be worth it? During the five years I've been away…I finally managed to get rid of that curse…but what am I going to do? Keep running? I could confront them once and for all. Give them a damn piece of their medicine. Nabiki has all of the hook-ups. With Japan's top social workers. With the yakuza. With the deadliest loan sharks.. She's on my side presumably. With her help, I'll be able to destroy them all. Their dignity and their reputation….I'll end it right there. They won't even think of screwing with me after that…nah…damn, what am I thinking right now? It's these kinds of thoughts that drive idiots like the Panda, pork breath and that shitty excuse of a fiancée. I'd be no different from them if I attempted anything like that. I left that place because I didn't want to have anything to do with them anymore. I wasn't looking for revenge, as much as I hated living there and as much as they wrecked with my life. I wanted to just leave and pray like hell that they don't spot me. In the end, even I couldn't delay that…"_

Several more minutes passed. The martial artist continued to float with his thoughts, as he watched the snowfall through the sunset. _"I wonder…Do I even want to get back home? I could just easily get a job here, start up a new dojo once I've earned enough, I dunno, maybe start a family…it'd be easier than dealing with those assclowns back at Nerima. I've learned never to take the easy way out. However, it's not even a matter of what's easy or what's harder anymore…It's more like a matter of 'Is it worth it?'…"_

Ranma groaned. "Augh. I'm not getting anywhere with this."

"You seem to be in deep thought," a cool sounding female voice rang behind him. He stood up immediately, "Oh, I'm sorry if I…"

He stopped in the middle of his words as he found himself intrigued by the mysterious, cool aired beauty that now faced him. She had on what seemed like a red, black and white coloured outfit. Her frilly outfit could be considered eccentric and somewhat revealing. She wore a white nurse cap with red linings, accompanied by a pair of black ribbons. She had on black thigh high socks, accompanied with long sleeved gloves that covered most of her forearms. She looked around Ranma's age if anything, around her early 20s. She had deep green eyes and fiery red hair that was tied into twin tails.

"Again, you seem to be in deep thought," the lady stated, while observing Ranma's curiosity peak.

Ranma shook his trance off and stated, "Ah, I'm sorry. Just, I sensed a rather powerful ki in you."

"Ki? You mean energy, right?" she answered back, "Oh. So you do have the ability to detect the energies of other entities. Impressive."

"It's one of the knacks of being a trained martial artist." Ranma informed her with an as-of-matter-of-fact tone, "Right…I don't think I've told 5pb yet though."

"She's said interesting things about you, may I add." She added while looking on with an indifferent expression. Ranma realized and asked, "Hey wait…you know who 5pb is?"

"Very much so. I'm an old and close friend of hers," she declared calmly, "I'm her bodyguard as well. I'm sure she's told you all about myself, Mr. Ranma."

"…wait, how did you get my name…huh…oh right…Bodyguard?" he uttered out. He thought for a good while and then it came to him quickly, "Did 5pb send you over here?"

"No, not exactly." She confessed, "I did, however, recognize the description she gave me of you while she was taking a break from her autograph event. She said 'Long dark hair, well bodily built, somewhat grumpy looking but with a warm hearted aura.'…"

"That is so like her," he sarcastically remarked, "So then…you must be…"

"My name is Cave. Officer Cave." She introduced herself to the fiery minded martial artist, "I am one of the elite members of Leanbox's Special Mission Department. I am here in Lowee with the purpose of acting as Lyri…I mean 5pb's bodyguard. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Ranma."

"Same here," he answered while accepting her handshake offer, "You know my name already but hell with it, I'll do it too. My name is Ranma. No need for any formalities, Cave. So…you just ran into me by coincidence?"

"I was going to search for you in an hour but I had assumed that you've already left the hospital. I just wanted to check though and here you are, sitting against these very steps. Guess I should have seen it coming, considering that Compa just passed by me a little while ago."

"I invited her to tag along with us. She'll be heading to Lastation as well. She says that a friend has called her up. So, I thought why not let her tag along? She seems to know 5pb."

"Compa was a valuable ally to our group years ago and a good friend. I wouldn't mind her tagging along." Cave openly stated. She thought, _"I thought Compa was going home to Planeptune after this…unless it was IF who contacted her and that it involved…"_

Caved looked up and winced towards him. She suggested, "Well, since you're done with your check up, how about we return to our hotel. 5pb will be back at seven pm but I don't want her worrying if you get lost around this huge city. How about it?"

"Sure thing," Ranma chose to go along with her plan, "….I'm kind of hungry though."

"Ah…" she calmly realized, "You mean to say, you haven't eaten anything since you woke up?"

"I didn't mention it though," he admitted, "5pb was already doing me a favour by taking her time off from idol duty just to lead me to the Basilicom. I would have been asking too much from her."

"Let me tell you, if she had known, she probably would dragged you to nearest crepe shop." Cave sighed, "That's awfully considerate of you, might I say. You hid your own hunger so you could put less weight on her."

"Truth to be told, I sort of gave her an earful when I woke up from that mini coma," Ranma recalled with a small hint of remorse, "I was bombarding her left and right with questions as to where I am…I feel bad...Just everything was so sudden. I need to find someway to apologize to her eventually."

"5pb loves to help others," she paced around him, "It's always been a common trait. In fact, she's grown so much since our last journey. I'm just glad that you both have been getting along okay."

"Uh, yeah…" he agreed, "If you say so."

"Well then, why don't we return to the hotel? Once Compa arrives, I can ask if she can cook something for you." Cave notified him.

"She doesn't have to do that, really." Ranma insisted, "I don't want a stranger just getting this worked up for me."

"She'd insist on doing so regardless," she lightly smiled somewhat, a rare gesture from a woman of her posture. "She did cook for the entire party regularly when we used to travel together. Come now. If we keep dawdling like this, it's going to get even later."

"Right. I'm coming."

They then left the hospital grounds and made their way back to the hotel.

* * *

Two hours have already passed and it was nearing 7 PM…Inside one of the hotel's main private dining rooms, Cave and Ranma were both seated, facing each other while conversing on topics relating to Gamindustri.

Ranma sighed, "Good thing the hotel owner didn't have any problem with letting us borrow this dinning room. He even let Compa borrow one of the old kitchens."

Cave answered, "Compa's done plenty of services to various nations in Gamindustri. If I recall, it was Compa who saved the life of the hotel manager's daughter."

"So Compa's got connections," he muttered to himself, "That explains it…Mmmm…that smells good."

"Compa's a skilled cook." She said while placing her finger under her chin, "5pb loves her dishes. She even joked once that Compa would make a perfect wife one day."

"I wouldn't disagree with that statement," Ranma grinned somewhat. "She's really hardworking too."

"What she lacks in the combat department, she makes up for with that strong morale of hers," she said back, "She was the party's best healer, a very irreplaceable position."

"What's this stuff about a 'party'?" he questioned while tapping his fingers on the table, "5pb mentioned some names like ASIC and Arfoire. All I know is that you all used to travel with some friends and even the goddesses but…"

Ranma's interrogation was cut short when Compa's voice cheerfully rang out, "Dinner's ready!"

Compa walked out of the kitchen, holding two trays. Each of them held two bowls of what looked like shrimp gambas accompanied with Basmati rice as a side.

"That looks tasty." The martial artist cheerfully smiled, "Can't wait to try it!"

"Please, it's nothing…" she grew somewhat flustered, "I do this regularly. I just grew up doing this often." After the pink haired nurse had set the food on the table, she asked, "5pb is running kind of late. It's past 7 PM…"

"I'll go check outside of the hotel," Ranma stood up, "She must be exhausted from that autograph event. I'll be sure to welcome her back."

Ranma left the dinning room immediately. At the same time, Cave noticed a new text message in her inbox. Opening her cellphone, she took a look and widened her eyes, "…so she really is…"

"Whew…man…it's gotten dark already," Ranma shivered somewhat as he stepped out of the main entrance of the hotel. It only occurred to him this very moment that first, he didn't have a jacket and second, the snow seemed to get chillier as the city went into the night. He looked up to the full moon that illuminated over the capital, as well as the numerous amounts of dazzling lights from the Basilicom itself and the hundreds of buildings which graced the city. "It's beautiful…even more so at night."

"Isn't it?" a stoic and calm minded voice spoke. Ranma looked behind him and realized that he wasn't completely alone.

Before the entrance, stood a petite young woman wearing what seemed to be a white dress. Surrounding the dress was a light blue jacket. Over her brown, short hair was a cap which kept her head warm. The girl, although holding a mature air around her, was very short. She was white skinned and she stood at a range between 145 and 150 cm. She was even shorter than Akane was. Perhaps she was just a student who merely got lost in the snow? These thoughts rushed through Ranma's mind.

He broke the ice, "Hey…you lost or something? Did you get separated from your mom and dad, your friends or…"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" her once calm toned voice switched to that of a slightly catty and sarcastic voice, "You little punk. I'm way older than I look and I've been doing the paperwork for this country since you were in diapers!"

"Woah there, you sound like some old fashioned grandma right now." Ranma casually replied back.

"So, you're calling me a old hag now?!" she barked back, her voice becoming even cattier. She took a deep breath and thought, _"Tch…remember Mina's tips…self control…self control…"_

Blanc crossed her arms before letting out one last groan as if to kick the fury out of her system. "Ah whatever! If this is how college students behave nowadays, someone ought to give the principal a kick in the ass. Seriously…no respect for one's elders…especially at least their own goddess. I don't ask for fame or recognition but some decency from young people would be good for a damned change."

"…goddess…?" Ranma widened his eyes, "…don't tell me you're…"

"Ah! Ranma! I'm sorry I'm late!" 5pb's voice called from afar as she approached the hotel building's street block. She had on a black winter coat with a furred headgear covering her head. "I'm really sorry! The producers threw me an after production party and it ended up in a scramble to get back to the hotel! I'm…oh…oh my…Lady Blanc?! What are you doing here!?"

Blanc recognized the idol. "5pb. Ah…" The calmness in her voice came back once more, "I was just giving this punk a lecture about respecting elders…I mean seriously…I'm not asking anyone to bow before me or any of that shit but at least show some decency in front of the goddess."

"Blanc, this is Ranma. He's the outsider who fell into Lowee." 5pb informed her.

Blanc gasped slightly and muttered, "Oh fucking hell…I couldn't see his face clearly in the dark at this time of night…especially with the snow fall…ah right, you're the guy who came to the Basilicom earlier today…I see…"

Ranma took a wild guess, "So, you must be Lady White Heart?"

The petite goddess cleared her throat and she introduced herself, "My name is Blanc. I am the current goddess of Lowee. You must be the little visitor who fell into my capital like a meteor."

"No shit," Ranma groaned, recalling the confusion he went through upon awakening in Gamindustri. "My name is Ranma. No need for formalities."

"Same here," Blanc said in a stoic voice, "I didn't appreciate you calling me some grandma though."

Compa and Cave's voices were heard coming out of the hotel. "Ranma, are you okay!? You've been outside for a while!"

Both the nurse and the SMD Ace exited the hotel, only to be greeted by the sight of 5pb and Blanc, both facing the confused martial artist.

Compa gasped, "Blanc! It's been a while!"

Cave addressed the goddess, "Lady White Heart. What are you doing here?" She then turned to 5pb, "I'm glad you're safe, Lyrica."

"Oh hush, Cave." 5pb teased somewhat, "I was just at a producers' after show event."

"Lyrica?" Ranma asked, "Is that your real name…?"

"….uh huh…5pb's my stage name." 5pb's voice broke a little. She became embarrassed at the notion of a guy having heard her true name. In fact, only her close friends knew of her real name.

"Again, Lady White Heart…" Cave began, "What brings you to this hotel at this time of night? Shouldn't you be heading back to the Basilicom?"

"First thing tomorrow morning." The goddess replied in a easy going but seemingly emotionless tone. "I'm coming with you all."

Compa grew curious, "Blanc, what exactly are you talking about?"

"I said I'm coming with you guys. To Lastation." She crossed her arms, "Mina will handle the affairs of the nation and keep an eye on the twins while I'm gone. I have an important meeting with Noire. In other words, a joint goddess talks session involving top secret matters."

"It's as Mina said in her text message," Cave closed her eyes, "Lady White Heart, is anything else required of…"

"Nah," Blanc downplayed any concern, "I'm fine just using the SMD's standard jumbo bus if it means avoiding any unneeded attention. I'll be staying over at this hotel tonight. Tomorrow, we leave first thing in the morning…"

"Certainly," Cave answered the petite goddess. _"My…looks like in addition to Mr. Ranma and Compa…Lowee's goddess will be accompanying us on this journey."_

Ranma and Blanc took one more look at each other. Both sides continued to stare, until Blanc peacefully nodded and walked back inside the hotel.

5pb could only sigh as a worrisome tone engulfed her voice, "Things…are…certainly going to get interesting."

_**Hyperdimension Half, Act III – End**_

* * *

_**:: Next time ::**_

**Compa: **Wow! This bus is so huge! There's a lot of room for all of us in here!

**Blanc: **Fricking shit! Don't tell me you two troublemakers snuck inside the back while nobody was looking!

**Rom: **I-it was Ram's idea…I'm sorry…

**Ram: **Guess we're tagging along then!

**Ranma: **A drive that's roughly 5 days worth…oh boy…

**Compa: **Is it just me or has Cave been…rather off lately?

**5pb: **I can sing you a lullaby if you'd like Ranma.

**Blanc: **What if I like reading these books? Is that a problem…

**Ranma: **It looks beautiful out here tonight…you really love to sing, huh?

**Nabiki: **No sign of Ranma yet but this is bad…now my father's found those documents, 'she's' going to go apeshit.

**?: **My father has finally found a good lead…you can't run forever Ranma! I'll make sure you pay for that wedding! You can run but you can't hide!

_**Hyperdimension Half, Act IV**_ _**– Roadtrip to Lastation**_

* * *

_**Author's Notes ::**_

Another chapter completed. What a miracle. So, anyways, I'd like to thank the people who took the time to review this fic. As far as the next chapter goes, 75 percent of it will take place in Gamindustri during the crew's roadtrip to Lastation. There'll be laughs, gags and some jealousy in the air. It will mostly consist of character interaction between Ranma, the Leanbox natives, Compa and the Lowee sisters. The last 25 percent will be set on Earth and will focus as to what Ranma's old associates are up to…especially a certain violent minded fiancée whose scapegoat always lies on Ranma. I hope you guys had a fun time with this chapter. Please, leave a review!


	4. Bridge Act I - Tides

_**Pre-word :: **_I haven't updated at all in two weeks. This probably had some people thinking, "It's the Vision discontinuation curse." Nope, I'm planning to continue working on this story. Here's the situation. I have exams next week which is why I haven't had the time to update. After next week, I'll hopefully have the next act finished by the end of February. It should be out in early February at latest. This isn't Act IV…However; I would call this following chapter a "bridge" act that will set up everything that is to occur in Act IV. This will also serve as a chapter that focuses on how everyone else is doing in the different lands of Gamindustri. Well…more of a short story involving Lastation. Without further ado, Bridge Act I, please enjoy.

* * *

_**Hyperdimension Half **_

_**Bridge Act I, The Turning of the Tides**_

Lastation. Known as The Land of Black Regality. The country of Lastation and its main cities lies south east of Lowee. Lastation, Planeptune and Lowee all lie on the same continent. However, Planeptune, east of Lastation is separated from the Land of Black Regality by a range of mountains which trail towards Lowee's borders and where the Gamindustri Graveyard once stood prior to the downfall of Arfoire and ASIC. Leanbox on the other hand, lies on a separate continent south of the mainland.

Grey smog and the odor of steampunk and heavy duty machinery haunt the main capital city of Lastation. Of the four main nations, Lastation is best known for its mass production and its heavy advancements in Gamindustri's commercial market. The capital's employed populace consists of factory workers, scientists and engineer specialists who continue to make advances with the nation's gaming and technology.

Inside the main Basilicom of the capital, Kei Jinguji quietly put her pen down in order to rest briefly. She has been working on the daily business reports since 5 AM that same morning. This sort of rigid work was nothing surprising for Lastation's all business Oracle. Although she comes off to others as cynical, cold and unsentimental, she cares deeply for the nation as she does towards Noire and Uni: the goddesses who rule over Lastation.

Kei noticed her cellphone ringing. She picked it up from her desk's left hand side only to notice a mail icon on the screen.

She opened up her cell's inbox, with a simple message coming from Mina Nishizawa of Lowee: "Lady White Heart, Miss 5pb and their group have left the capital."

The workaholic Oracle put down her cellphone and muttered, "Hmm. About time."

"May I come in?"

The door opened immediately as a black haired beauty with twin-tails entered the main office. She was dressed in a blue and white outfit which sported frills on her torso and the skirt. Her posture was that of a noble-like and dignified manner and her expression remained cool and relaxed. Her name is Noire, otherwise known as Lady Black Heart: the goddess of Lastation.

Kei greeted, "Noire, you're pretty early. I do recall telling you the night before that the reports aren't expected until today's business lunch with the neighboring companies."

"Tell me something I don't know," Noire scoffed slightly. "I got a text message from Blanc."

"How ironic, I just finished reading what Mina just sent me." Kei stood up from her desk and observed the cellphone message which was being shown by the goddess herself.

The text message read: "On the way to Lastation. We'll be here in a few days. – Blanc."

"It's unlike her to actually care if I knew when she would arrive to this place." Noire commented, closing her cellular shortly after. "Have you seen Uni? I've been calling on her all morning yet no sign of her."

"She's training again," the oracle stated with an as-a-matter-of-fact tone, "You should find her over at the park."

"That girl is so hardworking," the twin tailed goddess sat down on the office couch. "It shouldn't come off as a surprise. Afterall, she will surpass me one day."

"No time to be sentimental," Kei walked over and sat down beside her. She drew out what looked like two printed reports. "As of 1:08 AM as of this morning, I've sent official statements to Leanbox and Planeptune regarding our 'situation'…"

"Good timing." Noire smirked, "I just got off the phone with both Vert and Neptune. They'll be arriving in Lastation within a few days as well. This is all turning into a giant international diplomacy conference."

"And that man who happens to fall mysteriously into the middle of this all."

"Don't talk nonsense, Kei." Noire huffed, standing up to prepare herself some coffee. "Just because that martial artist happened to fall into Lowee around the time our databases started messing up means nothing. I still don't get why I have to give some stranger like him an audience."

"I didn't say you had to," the Oracle chuckled slightly, a rare gesture from somebody like Kei. "It would be appreciated, however. I was skeptic towards his motives but he naturally has no knowledge of Gamindustri. Based on Mina's recent statements, it would be…probably, keyword is probably, safe to assume that he is indeed an 'outsider'…"

"Outsider or not, I could care less." Noire crossed her arms, "…but…since he's coming all this way…I guess it wouldn't hurt to give this mystery stranger an audience. Somebody who's willing to put up with Blanc for a five-day trip…is pretty bizarre. If not uncanny."

Kei drew a photo out and showed it to the tsundere goddess. "Lowee's security ops took this photo under a request from Mina. I asked her myself personally, however."

Noire observed the photo and commented, "He looks…pretty tall…no, pretty built too…he gives off this eerie martial artist vibe…"

Kei deadpanned, "Noire, you seem…too absorbed into that photo."

The goddess shrieked and backed away, calming her reddened face down. "It's absolutely nothing Kei. Don't get any funny ideas! Got it!?"

Thus, it was another normal morning in Lastation.

Back at the main capital of Lowee, Mina strolled through the Basilicom's grand hallways. Blanc and her group left the main capital just two hours ago. Blanc entrusted Mina to taking care of her younger twin sisters. She called out, "Rom! Ram! It's time for breakfast."

No avail; as the oracle didn't receive a response. She tried again, "Girls, I made waffles for breakfast!"

Once more, there was silence. "Now where could those two girls be? Perhaps they're playing a game of hide and seek."

A male Basilicom soldier rushed to the oracle, "Lady Nishizawa! I have terrible news!"

"Calm down and speak slowly, soldier." Mina ordered, "What is it? Is it an attack by ASIC remnants!?"

"No!" he hollered as his face grew more panicked, "Rom and Ram are gone! They've vanished! My squad can't find them anywhere inside the Basilicom! The capital security can't find them in the city either!"

Mina's face went pale. "Oh….god….!"

Somewhere…on the open road…a gigantic black bus is seen cruising through the highways of Gamindustri. Inside the luggage compartment…

"S-sis….it's too hot in here…when can we come out?"

"Shhh…not yet, Rom…! We'll sneak out of here soon enough…if we keep talking, Blanc will find us and…"

The luggage compartment opened. "So there you are, you little ants! Mina is looking all over for you back at the Basilicom!"

Both twin sisters gulped. They were in for it now…

_**To be Continued…**_

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_**Author's Notes ::**_

Well, I got that out of the way. Everything else should be completely clear in the next chapter. As for what Leanbox and Planeptune are up to, expect some more scenes in Act IV. Please, leave a review.


	5. Act IV - Lowee's Goddess

_**DISCLAIMER :: I do not own Ranma Half or Hyperdimension Neptunia. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Compile Heart, respectively.**_

**_UPDATED PRE-WORD 7/25/2013 ::_** Just now I realized the errors in this chapter. Nobody in the Neptunia universe knows of Ranma's last name yet Blanc and Kei mentioned it in their dialogues here. I've updated this error and any mention of Saotome from the characters themselves have been erased. I deeply apologize for this error.

* * *

_**Act IV – The Wild Horse and Lowee's Goddess**_

"Oh that is it! You little brats are in for it now! Sneak out of the Basilicom to screw around with our business trip, why…"

Ranma Saotome could only observe passively or rather, observe with absolute caution. The bus heading to Lastation made an abrupt stop at a nearby gasoline station just before Blanc had discovered that her two mischievous younger sisters took refuge inside of the bus's luggage compartment. It was grim coincidence that sided against the twin CPU Candidates of Lowee. Both the younger twin sisters possessed expressions of both fear and relief. It was relief in the sense that it meant not having to stick around much longer inside the cramped luggage compartment. However, absolute fear of their older sister laying on the discipline overshadowed this sense of relief.

The others had exited the bus for a comfort break by then and the driver of the SDM Bus took his sweet time and went over to the 24/7 Convenience Store for a cup of coffee. Compa walked over where the ronin martial artist stood, leaning against a caution sign that stood parallel to the rows of gasoline machines in the station. The nurse in training couldn't help but feel somewhat sad for him. He was looking for answers and their trip had been interrupted and in the most unexpected turn to boot.

"This happens quite often actually. The twins causing this much of a stir I mean. I'm sorry this happened. They're good girls. Honest."

"No, you don't need to apologize. Don't fret over such little things, Compa. No trouble at all."

"R-really? That's a relief. I'm going into the station to call Iffy. Be back in a bit, okay?"

"Alright then. I'll be over at the bus if you need anything."

Ranma made the immediate and initiative backchannel to reassure the ditzy nurse or so he thought. It didn't bother him, really. In fact, none of it did so far. It felt funny, something he found himself reflecting on. He had left Nerima in order to escape the chaotic lifestyles that were generated from his father's own bloated sense of "honor" and "duty". In order to escape being bounded by an insane promise that was decided for him by his own father with seppuku pacts on their heads. A promise made for him when he was a child.

It felt ironic and Ranma knew it very well. He found himself dwelling on these things while the angry scolds and groans of Lady White Heart herself echoed all over the gas station. Not like the staff could do much. This was _their goddess_. He figured that the staff and any passerby probably didn't want to have anything to do with their CPU scolding her two mischievous sisters. Amidst these thoughts, he looked back at what had befallen upon him by far.

He was in a distant, out-of-this world place. Far from similar from the world he knew and even then he had only been conscious in this distant and surreal world for around 24 hours, not counting the time he spent in a temporal coma. Despite all of this, the martial artist felt comfortable. Then again, who was he to judge what comfortable meant to him? These things continued to run in his mind and the more he dwelled on it, the more questions he generated. He had spent a good amount of his years as a teenager living with and confronting crazed martial artist in Nerima out of all places. It should have only been natural that he was used to such craze at this point.

He did remind himself however, he didn't leave Nerima solely because of that. He left because he wanted to live how he chose to. Not bounded by engagements and certainly not bounded by a ridiculous promise he never had the chance to decide for himself. This was the thing, felt comfortable in place and he had no idea why. Afterall, this ronin martial artist had only been in this distant world for such a short period of time. The people he met up until this point; some he considered crazed and some he thought were normal.

The martial artist wanted to brush these thoughts off.

"_Tch…do I really want to go home…? No, think Ranma, think…I still have plans…I've worked too hard….everything was going smoothly if that Panda hadn't caught tabs at where I was…but, if worse comes to worse, maybe living here wouldn't be so bad…"_

"R-ranma?"

He jolted from his long train of thought and immediately, he recognized Lyrica standing adjacent to him from his left side. The pop idol held three bottles of drinks around her. She eyed the martial artist curiously for several more seconds until she offered one to him.

"Sorry it took me a while. The staff caught sight of me and my visit to the store turned into an autograph signing, haha…I bought these at the station. I have one for Compa too. I asked Blanc and Cave if they wanted one but they refused so…"

"You didn't have to go through the trouble. Thanks very much, Lyrica."

The pop idol's smile slowly transformed into a concerned kind of scowl. Ranma didn't know how to describe it but all he did know was it felt as if she could see through him. Her ruby colored eyes sized up his changing reaction until she began to speak as her voice turned even softer.

"No problem. Say Ranma, you've just been standing there entire time we made a stop at the gas station. Well, is something bothering you? I could have sworn I saw Compa talking to you from inside the station shop and I couldn't help but wonder."

Ranma shrugged in response and looked at the idol in the eye.. He spent the past 20 minutes or so just thinking to himself in order to pass the time. He didn't realize the possibility of making a girl worried; something he felt like avoiding at all costs. Especially worrying the pop idol: 5pb or as she was known to her friends, Lyrica. She's done too much for him, he thought. He couldn't simply make her worry.

"No, there's nothing wrong. I insist. I thought I'd just wait. The bus driver seems to be taking a long while with his coffee. The bus should have been filled up by now so I just kept still. I didn't mean to worry you. Don't fret."

The idol's worried face transitioned back into that warm hearted smile the martial artist knew her by.

"That's a relief. Yeah, I think the bus driver is doing this on purpose. He knows Lady Blanc's temper rather well. Then again, her nation's citizens all do. Everyone in her Basilicom knew this: when her younger twin sisters stirred trouble up; only hell would break loose. Or so they said. My, they're still at it."

Lyrica was very much spot on. 20 minutes into the gas stop, Blanc was very well still chewing her younger twin sisters out. It wasn't too hard for the civilians to recognize their benevolent but catty mouthed goddess in a gas stop near the entrance of a long freeway heading to Lastation's borders. It was easy to spot too if one were a martial artist such as the likes of Ranma.

"Geez, that ki is flaming red. Really flaming red. Here I thought Akane was bad, haha…"

He couldn't help but make the side comment. Lady White Heart's temper did indeed remind her of his once, fiery and reckless martial artist fiancée, Akane Tendo. It wasn't her temper that drove him away from Nerima exactly. Rather the entire chaos of the engagement plan is what did. Then again, not like it mattered to him. He would have rather been required to marry even Nabiki over Akane. Blanc felt somewhat different, despite all of this. She was fiery tempered, hot headed and at times, came off as sarcastic according to Compa and Cave. Despite her shortcomings, her citizens considered her to be a truly benevolent goddess. So far, Ranma found Lady White Heart odd, familiar yet not-so-familiar. It was a thought that he acquiesced into his own personal mindset. Her ebullient and ear grating yelling made it even more evident to him.

If there were times Blanc came off as the angriest to others; it would always be those moments where she delivered a heated scolding to her two younger sisters and they knew it well.

"…secondly, no video games for an entire three weeks and this will be extended to a whole month of you little brats stir any more trouble up! Thirdly, I'm sending you both back to the Basilicom and you will and I mean you both will apologize to Mina. She does so much crap for us and you end up nearly giving her a heart attack. You'll both behave in front of her, 24/7 because believe me you know two know like hell that she'll…!"

Two younger looking girls remained seated on a bench as they faced their furiously angered older sister. They kept their heads down but in reality, they were most likely ignoring her. It was a common occurrence for their older sister to give them such scolding for stirring up this much trouble so it was nothing new to them. They decided not to speak a word; in fear that she would extend their no-video-game punishment. Rather, they chose to keep silent in hope of kissing up to their older sister so that their penalties would be lifted.

"Ummm, excuse me." A voice rang from behind her.

Blanc froze as she had realized that Ranma was now towering from behind her with his hand on her delicate shoulder. Both twins looked up and gulped.

From afar, Compa caught sight off the scene from inside the gasoline shop. "W-what is he doing?!"

Cave could only watch from inside the bus. She said nothing and gave her attention back to the magazine she used to keep herself occupied. Lyrica ran for Ranma and tugged his free right arm.

"Ranma, what in the world are you doing? Let's leave them to their business. We're all used to it! She's not doing anything wrong!"

He ignored the pop idol's pleas and began to speak.

"No offense Lady White Heart but you're kind of slowing us down. Can we just send these two home and get on with our trip?"

Compa cringed from inside of the store. No citizen dared to cross paths with their goddess while she was scolding her two younger sisters, who would one day succeed her as the CPUs of their nation. Just what in goodness name was this martial artist doing, the ditzy nurse couldn't stop these thoughts from ringing all over her mind.

Blanc turned around and slapped his hand off her shoulders.

"Screw off and mind your own business, jackass! Can't you see I'm giving these pesky little cats about trying to be stowaways in an important business trip…!"

Ranma kept his cool and politely raised his hand in order to interrupt the goddess. She growled in a low voice until she took a few deep breaths to regain her calm as if to let him keep speaking.

Compa sighed in relief as she exited the gas station, catching much more in-depth sight of what was going on. Looks like Mina's self-control lessons had paid off for the fiery mouthed goddess, she thought.

"Like I was saying, just scold them later but you're keeping everyone waiting, you know. I understand your sisters have caused a delay but come on…"

The civilians couldn't help but freeze at Ranma's calm against the fiery goddess. The SDM officer who served as the bus driver, having finished his extended coffee break, ran out of the station store and held Ranma back while muttering into his ear.

"Psssst…do you really want to provoke a goddess!? This kind of thing happens all of the time…! Unless you don't want her hammer in your face, I suggest you show some respect…!"

Ranma ignored the bus driver's comments and continued to face Blanc. "Well…? Let's just send these two home and get a move on…you're delaying Lyrica and Compa's trips too. They're your close friends. I could care less if my delay to see Lastation's Oracle gets extended. Your friends have tight schedules, you know. I mean no disrespect."

Blanc didn't say anything. He did have a point. Her temper was well known amongst her peers and it was considered common. Despite that, she's done everything in her power in order to master that fiery temper, day and night. She's taken advice from Mina and even somebody like Lady Green Heart; a goddess who she somewhat considered a rival. It was common knowledge to people that when Blanc really got angry at her sisters, it was for their own good. They were going to succeed her in ruling the nation one day.

She didn't exactly know how to react to this martial artist. Never has anyone defied her authority over her younger sisters…only Mina did but that remained partially because she herself did more of the "raising up" than did Blanc. The goddess deeply cared for her sisters but she always found herself occupied with her duties as a goddess and her reading. She didn't want to come off as neglectful so she tried to play her part in setting them straight when they went out of bounds.

On one hand, she felt like simply telling him to fuck off. On the other, she didn't even want to bother replying. It was a conflicted feeling. Was it perhaps the aura that this ronin gave off?

Blanc's angry yet calm scowl turned into an expression of indifference. She turned away and walked towards the bus.

"Eh…I think the twins get the message…let's head back to the bus. We're leaving in 10 minutes. Until then, I'm calling an escort cab to safely return them to the capital."

Ranma remained calm while the bus driver who had previously held him back only had his jaws dropped. A stranger who landed out of nowhere just a few days ago, managed to extinguish Lady White Heart's fury? The goddess turned to the bus driver as if to indicate an order. He nodded and rushed back to the bus.

Lyrica was completely speechless. Rarely did even her closest of friends get in the way when Blanc was angry, unless that person was none other than Mina. Yet this mysterious martial artist had calmed her fury with simple and rational logic. Anyone else would have been pummeled or cussed out.

"Ranma, how did you do it?!"

"It's nothing, honestly. She sort of reminds me of a crazed fiancée had from where I came from. Not like vague similarities matter."

He couldn't help but smile somewhat. He dared think that Lowee's tranquil goddess had a temper that could surpass Akane's. At the same time however, he felt an absolutely tranquil kind of warmth from Blanc. She was fiery but only because the situation called for it. Slowly, Ranma began to understand why people considered Blanc one of the kindest goddesses in this land. She was strict, she had a frightening temper but he could see it through the eyes of her friends and the citizens of her land that she meant well.

The twins stood up from the bench and approached him. The short haired twin tugged on his crimson shirt. "….you….calmed onee-chan down…?"

The twin with the longer hair grinned and spoke energetically, complementing the martial artist. "You crossed paths with Blanc…?! You must have had a death warrant in order to cross her while she was angry…!"

Ranma slightly grinned and addressed the twins casually.

"It's nothing. I had no provocation in mind. I was just worried about Lyrica's schedule."

The idol pouted and tugged on Ranma by his short from behind.

"I'm more worried about Lady Blanc's schedule, quite frankly but…"

Her concerned expression soon became a warm smile once more. She bowed and lightly hugged the martial artist's right arm.

"….you didn't have to do that for my sake though…Cave knows that Blanc doesn't intend to cause any trouble for anyone but…thank you…"

The long haired twin smirked, while the short haired sister kept quiet.

"Oh. Lyrica found herself a boyfriend at last?"

The idol quickly jolted away from Ranma. She sped off to hide behind a nearby road sign; the same one where he spent nearly half an hour waiting. "It's not like that, h-honest!"

Ranma approached the shy idol in order to coax her into coming back. Cave had exited the bus herself in order to confirm the situation to the entire group.

"Cave, is something the matter?"

The SMD Officer cleared her throat as if to get her group's attention. Compa, Ranma and Lyrica huddled together as Cave calmly began to explain the situation.

"Lady Blanc has recently finished talking with the nearby communication centers. Due to the database infiltrations that struck Lowee and Lastation just recently, we can't get a safe escort to deliver the twins back to the capital. So, it's been discussed between me and Lady Blanc that the twins are to accompany us."

The twins, having overheard her statement, jumped in complete enthusiasm.

"Hooray! We get to be on this road trip!"

"A…road trip….sounds….lovely…"

"This isn't a field trip. Don't forget that. Rom. Ram."

Blanc herself exited the bus and walked over to face her twin sisters. She had her arms crossed and she looked them straight in the eye.

"I couldn't get any accurate contacts in order to get you both a safe escort back to the capital due to the shit going on with our databases. I don't want to risk putting you both in danger."

The short haired twin sister approached Blanc much closer and muttered, as if trying not to cry.

"You're…not….mad at us?"

"I'm still mad. I'm mad because you ended up making Mina worry like hell for you two. This is an important business trip. Compa and Lyrica happen to be accompanying us so I didn't want you two stirring anything up but…I guess I sort of delayed you guys…"

"N-no, it's okay Lady Blanc. I don't mind," insisted Lyrica.

"I'm in no rush or anything. You don't have to worry," Compa added while she gave a gesture of reassurance.

The brunette goddess couldn't help but sigh loudly. She dived in and gave both her younger twin sisters a tight hug; all the while retaining her calm.

"W-well anyways….please…behave yourselves on this trip…I don't want you two getting hurt."

Both sisters said nothing more and nodded in compliance.

Blanc broke the embrace and turned to Ranma. "Ah right. Where are my manners. I haven't introduced them to you. The one with the long hair is Ram and the one with the short hair is Rom…the latter can be really shy so please just bear with it. They're my younger sisters. In other words, the CPU Candidates of Lowee. Rom. Ram. This is Ranma. That weird guy who fell into the capital a few days ago."

Ranma felt a little offended being addressed as "that weird guy" but he didn't mind. He gave the pair of twins a nodding gesture as if to say hello to them.

"My name is Ram! I can teach you some good pranks once we arrive at Lastation!"

"….and…my name…is Rom…"

"It's a pleasure to meet the two of you. Let's get all get along."

"Ahem."

Everybody turned their attentions to Blanc, who had begun to walk back into the jumbo bus's entrance.

"I want to apologize for holding us up like that but time waits for no man. We'll be arriving at Lastation within five days or so. It'll be a long trip so best we get a move on then. You all need anything else?"

Rom and Ram raised their hands. Blanc didn't say anything else. Instead, she just glanced at them as if to signal that they were permitted to speak.

"Can me and Rom buy some comic books inside the gas station's magazine section? Pleeeeeaaaase?"

"Augh…alright…Make it quick. We're leaving right after. I'll be waiting."

The twins cheered and quickly rushed to the gas station store. Ranma walked over to Blanc, with both of them overlooking the open road.

"Your sisters are rather…energetic."

"That's a complete understatement, if I could even consider it one. Hey Ranma…if none of our nations can help you find a way back home…what will you do exactly?"

The Goddess who ruled over the land of White Serenity had to remind him. Ranma didn't know what to do. He only had speculations ringing about his mind. He had done too much over at his world. He had done too much in order to save up so that he could travel to the United States. The goddess found herself making a correct point to him.

Ranma had to consider the worst case scenario. Then again…would it be considered a worst case scenario…?

"If all else fails, move over to my nation. The Lowee Security Corps could use a good martial artist instructor."

"I beg your pardon?"

Too late. The goddess already walked off, most likely to the gasoline station store in order to call the twins up.

Ranma looked up into the sky. It was nearing sunset. So far, they have driven for well over 8 hours or so…Another 5 more days to go until they would arrive at where he could seek more answers…or rather where he could receive more questions.

Either way, the idea didn't seem so bad to Ranma. This so called "worst case" scenario, he thought.

"_I think I'll go ask Compa about Planeptune tonight inside of the bus."_

_**Act IV, fin.**_

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**Vert :: **Perhaps I should head on over Lastation myself…

**Blanc :: **We're here. This place is as industrial as ever.

**Kei :: **So…you must be Ranma. We meet at last.

**Noire ::** Get off of me! Just where do you think you're touching?!

**Ranma :: **Oh brother.

_**Next time :: Hyperdimension Half, Act V – The Land of Black Regality**_

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**Afterword ::**

Oh boy. Where do I begin. Yes, last time I updated, I promised that I would try and update at the start of February. It's now past the first week of May. Yes, I've been really busy and this is also because of writer's block. I want to put more dedication into updates so I apologize for these three months' worth of delay. In addition, some of you may have noticed that Act IV deviated from my intended premise of IV as seen on that preview in ch III. I know but I don't want to drag things on so I thought a chapter dedicated to more interaction between Ranma and Blanc would be more fitting. Next chapter, the gang finally arrives over at Lastation. Chaos ensues. Hope you guys enjoyed this. Please leave a review.


	6. Act V - The Land of Black Regality

_**DISCLAIMER :: Again, I don't own any of the characters in this story.**_

**_UPDATED PRE-WORD ::_** Thank you "one who walks the path of fire" for spotting my minor "Saotome" error in the first part of the chapter. Yes, that was a mistake on my part as nobody in the Neptunia universe is aware of Ranma's last name.

_**Act V – The Land of Black Regality**_

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"Here's your cofee, Noire."

"Ah, much obliged. Thank you very much Kei."

It was the typical Saturday morning in the "Land of Black Regality", Lastation. The skies weren't as smoggy as they usually would have been on a work day as half the factories in the nation either closed early on weekends or remained on stand-by until Monday arrived once more. It was a simple system which was rigorously followed by the labor unions in the nation. Lastation itself has always been regarded as the most industrial and mass-producing nation in all of Gamindustri. The nation's industrial quota and output was more than enough to seal such a statement.

Like all Saturday mornings, it wasn't any different for Noire or her "family" in the Basilicom. Saturday was the only R&R period she allowed herself to indulge upon. Monday to Friday consisted of pure paperwork, the signing of treaties and new laws and the inspection of the nation's manufacturing sectors. Saturday was her day off and Sunday was dedicated to preparing any additional or supplemental documents in order to prepare for Monday.

Noire's Saturday schedule was basic. At 7 AM, she had a cup of coffee and conversed with Kei who usually awoke earlier than the rest in order to sort out any upcoming paperwork. Then she would train Uni, her younger sister and the nation's own CPU candidate. Everything else she did from that point varied from week to week. Sometimes she would expect visitors, particularly Planeptune's own goddess who is best known for her fits of hooky. If not, she would typically work on her own personal hobbies such as cosplay or perhaps look into the ongoing trends of Gamindustri's citizens. The twin tailed goddess typically bragged in front of Lowee's, "Lastation only does everything." She's always withstood everything in her power to legitimize that statement. Always. For the sake of Lastation and its people.

Noire took a sip of her piping hot coffee seated on her office chair which faced her office's main window; displaying a panoramic view of Lastation's most intriguing industrial sites and tourists attractions. Despite the common stereotype that swarmed around Lowee's denizens, Lastation wasn't all smog and smoke. To Noire, she considered it more like steel and strength. Blanc would visit on other days, dropping vague remarks or jabs about the nation's smog eventually becoming as big as Noire's ego which often resulted into arguments.

Today was a different Saturday morning for Noire. The typical Saturday morning for her nation would not reach even their goddess. Today, Lady Black Heart was to expect visitors in the form of Delegations from Lowee in the form of their nation's goddess, Blanc. In a twisted fate of coincidence, 5pb, Cave and Compa and by extension Lowee's twin CPU candidates, have ended up travelling alongside the goddess. Not only did Noire expect Blanc but she also expected the very individual who caused a stir in the capital over a week back, the man who went by the name of Ranma. Then again, Noire wasn't too thrilled at the idea of seeing him yet she obliged herself to do so. It annoyed her but she reminded herself constantly that as Lastation's CPU, duty came first.

"You do know that we're expecting some company later on today, right Noire?"

Noire spun her office chair around and scowled at her all-business oriented Oracle. She just had to remind her. She had an audience with what she calls "the shady guy" who suddenly fell into Lowee just a little over a week ago.

"Yes, I'm very well aware, Kei. Apparently, I have to take whatever time I could be using to train Uni so I can see this mysterious stranger with a rather shady motive."

"I thought you told me a few days ago that you didn't mind giving this mysterious one an audience. I do recall you giving him a complement about putting up with going on a trip with Blanc for a few days."

"Well, that was a few days ago Kei. None of it matters now. Maybe it was nothing more than a mere side-comment. Take it with a grain of salt if you may."

"Mina's given me updated reports about the database breaches which Lastation and Lowee have been experiencing. They haven't happened recently. It does make me think. Those data breaches did happen on the same day that individual landed on Lowee. I'm not saying he and the occurrences are connected. Rather, I just want to hypothesize that his arrival at the capital confirmed the breaches and faults in the system when it failed to detect a dimensional disturbance."

Kei walked over to Noire's desk and handed her several reports that were recently printed off from the Basilicom's intelligence and foreign relations division.

"These are documents confirming official responses from Leanbox and Planeptune. Both nations are going to be sending delegates or rather their representatives to our capital in order to discuss the breaches."

"Neptune and Vert, huh? I can't imagine Neptune taking the voyage to this place seriously without taking jabs at that incident a few months ago. That unspeakable incident."

"Oh, you mean where those photos of you in that goth loli fashion cosplay were leaked by the hundreds of 'Noire fan alliances' in the nation? How troublesome indeed."

Noire jolted up from her desk, letting out a slight shriek. No way in hell did she want to relive that memory. Not now. Not ever.

"That was a fluke, okay?! You know it well Kei! So does this nation! I just didn't have any intent on publishing those photos so…"

The Oracle could only give her goddess a deadpanned stare on the face.

"Noire. Gamindustri has well over 7 major conventions per year. You attend most of them in order to gain Shares. I don't see why you're so frugal about your cosplay photos. Besides, those photos did a significant amount to increase our nation's shares."

"Sorry…it's just I've spent all night working on several documents involving today's upcoming meeting."

Kei cut her goddess off with a simple finger tap on the edge of her desk. Kei knew Noire all too well up to the look she usually had in her eyes when something felt amiss.

"Don't push yourself too hard for today. For now, let's get this meeting over with and then we can sort the problem out while cooperating with the other three nations."

"You're right Kei. I sounded a tad bit off there for a second, huh?"

The oracle couldn't help but chuckle slightly. Noire was too easy to read and she knew it very well as did the goddess of Planeptune. She motioned for the door but not before her smart phone's ringtone blared from her inner pockets. Kei opened up her phone and carefully eyed the contents of a brand new e-mail she had just received.

Kei lisped slightly and then thought aloud, "Well, speak of the devil. I just got a text from Miss Cave of the Special Mission Department. Their bus has just entered the freeway exit leading to our capital."

Noire set aside her coffee, stood straight up from the comfort of her own desk, filed her ready-to-go documents and marched out of the office without saying a word. The Goddess of Black Regality wasn't too thrilled at the concept of this audience but she wanted it done and over with. After all, she was this nation's goddess and her populace only expected her to do just about every little thing in the books.

Kei could only remark in a tone that had stings of both sympathy and amusement.

"It's going to be a long day, huh Noire?

* * *

"Thank you very much," Cave expressed her thanks as the bus driver parted ways from her group.

Minutes ago, Ranma and company finally arrived at the capital of Lastation. Everybody stood outside of the bus with their belongings, bags and luggage at hand at the travelling bus station where they reached their final destination.

Blanc crossed her arms as she began to observe their urban surroundings. She sarcastically jabbed, "Smog, black factories, more urban development and the potential for more industrial mayhem. Noire hasn't changed a bit."

"So, this is Lastation." Ranma said while he walked over next to Blanc. He felt somewhat awestruck yet at the same time, felt that this environment seemed more welcoming to some grim extent. For him at least. When he arrived at Lowee, Ranma felt like he was walking through a fairy tail inspired wonderland. Upon setting foot on Lastation, to Ranma, it felt like a scene within the heart of downtown Tokyo.

"Lastation looks…a bit glummer than Lowee. The capital does at least."

The Goddess of Lowee couldn't help but snigger somewhat, eying the martial artist with a calm yet cynical look on her expression as soon as he commented on the nation that rivaled hers.

"Noire's always going on about industrial development, technological expansion and urban reform but ends up turning her capital city into a metropolis of heavy duty factories and guild dwellings."

"The living conditions in Lastation are superb, regardless." Compa said as she stepped in between both Ranma and Blanc as if to act as a neutral or unbiased buffer of some sorts. She continued. "The industrial reforms set by Noire and her council have done plenty to help benefit the nation and lower unemployment rates."

Blanc walked away from both Ranma and Compa as if to preserve her own personal space. She was a girl of little words and when she said something, she made sure they were concise and straight to the point. She didn't feel like having a discussion with either of them involving their nations. "Kuh, whatever. I don't have time for this. Let's just hurry on to the Basilicom as fast as we can. After our first round of meetings, I'll head back to our hotel room."

Cave moved over to where both Ranma and Compa stood with several files of papers on hand. "These are our hotel reservation documents. Lyrica herself was generous enough to book us all 5 star suits for our week stay in Lastation."

Lyrica shrugged Cave's complements off as soon as she was in hearing range; most likely in order to remain humble. "No, Cave…it's nothing…I mean…Lady Blanc is a goddess...it wouldn't be right of me to not give all of my companions the best of treatment…"

Blanc's gaze redirected at the idol. She calm heartedly reassured the pop idol, "Quit trying too hard to sound so humble…I'm grateful enough that you let us tag along with you to Lastation…"

"…b-but, you're a goddess and I should…"

"Man, have Vert or Chika ever taught you to quit being so stiff? Like I said, you have my gratitude…and my apologies…for putting up with my crap during the trip I mean…or when the twins were too noisy."

"Hey, we were so not noisy during the drive today! We were both practically silent like angels!" Ram, the youngest of Blanc's twin sisters, protested while Rom stood behind her.

"That's because you both stayed up late last night on the bus playing that game of yours while every one of us was asleep on the bus." Blanc interrupted her younger sister's rant. She turned around once more but this time, to face Ranma himself. "Alright. Cave's given you all of the documents you need to check into your hotel suites. I'll be heading over to Lastation's Basilicom for my little meeting with goddess bitchy pigtails herself."

"Wait, what about my audience with this nation's goddess?!" Ranma bolted out suddenly as if to make sure that Blanc and the other third parties would keep their word. "You're just telling me to go stay in the hotel room or whatever?"

"You can have your audience with her later!" the short goddess barked back, tip toeing so she could leer face to face with Ranma. "You should be grateful that she even agreed to this audience. Knowing her, she would have just shrugged you off as some suspicious figure or whatever! That's not the point right now. You need to confirm 5pb's Reservations for the time being while I have my meeting with her. Your audience is scheduled this noon while mine is in an hour."

"What are you both supposed to be talking about during the next two hours?"

"Goddess business. CPU delegations. Diplomacy between our nations. Nothing that concerns you, of course." Blanc coldly answered back. The martial artist glared at her for a split second but he stopped right there.

He was well aware that the goddess didn't harbor any ill intent but he now knew that trying to argue with her fiery hearted personality would only cause more problems for him and for everyone else. He was left with no choice but to cooperate with her for now.

"Tch. Have it your way. Just promise me that you have no intention of breaking our word."

Blanc said nothing else before wandering off into Lastation's urban jungle. She merely gazed at Ranma, the look in her eyes becoming as soft as marshmallows and nodded in agreement. Finally, she disappeared amidst the busy streets of the capital.

* * *

"She's definitely somebody I can't read clearly," Ranma mused as he threw himself onto his hotel room bed, which overlooked a scenic view of the impressive looking sky scrapers of the Lastation capital. It was a nice breathe of fresh air for him after over days of watching vehicles, country side roads and gas stations pass them by in their long five-day drive.

Lyrica walked over to Ranma's beside, putting down her bags. She had on a white t-shirt with gym pants and black sneakers as if to conceal her identity for the time being. "My tour in Lastation lasts for three days, roughly. I'm going to be holding concerts in three of the capital's most major commerce districts. It's a bit embarrassing though…I mean…my posters are practically everywhere. Even the hotel clerk freaked out as soon as he read my ID and papers."

"You're a pop star. Shouldn't you be used to this kind of attention by now?"

"Prior to this tour, I've only been well known within all of Leanbox. This is the first time I'm performing on Lastation's soil so I'm sort of nervous."

"Hah, then how do you explain those posters we saw around the city on our way to the hotel?"

Lyrica flushed slightly before mustering the courage to speak. "Well, my CDs and music videos have been selling well in nations outside of Leanbox…it's part of the reason why Cave and Vert managed to make this Gamindustri tour a reality for me. I'm absolutely grateful for everything they've done for me by far…I feel so blessed."

"Vert…ah, right. That Oracle from Lowee mentioned her…If I recall accurately…" Immediately, the words of Mina Nishizawa from when they first met flashed into his mind.

"_The Nation of Leanbox is ruled by the Goddess Green Heart, otherwise known as Lady Vert. She's known to be somewhat of a hardcore MMO gamer and internet phenomenon. Sometimes, I feel like Chika just spoils her far too much. Despite this, she's capable of playing her part when it matters. Lady Vert has been accredited for various technological and environmental reforms in her nation, making it one of the safest places to live in Gamindustri."_

"An MMO Gamer for a Goddess, huh…sounds like she's an eccentric person to hang around with."

"Mina can be strict on people's shortcomings but even she knows how much of a wonderful goddess Vert is. Just, she gets carried away with her hobbies. Namely stuff that involves those questionable games she plays, especially the one with the two guys on the cover…Tch, forget I said anything. I'm sorry!"

Ranma widened his eyes and sat up on his bed. "Wait, what did you say?"

Lyrica flailed her arms as if she was blowing a rabid flame storm away. "Forget what I just said, okay?! Just forget it…Jeez!"

Feeling somewhat kept in the dark, the martial artist decided to downplay the idol's panic and forgot about what she said for now. The Wild Horse of Nerima was bound to bring this up again eventually considering his adventurous curiosity. That and his tendency to draw and attract forms of pure chaos and mayhem is what he was known for in Nerima.

He felt stung by that thought and he knew very well why it did. That fact remained true. Ranma has always attracted chaos. Not because he wanted to but because he just had that kind of aura lurking around his own ki. Just knowing that he had been recently spirited away from his home world did more than just reinforce this fact.

"So, Lyrica…your room is next door…right?"

Lyrica kept silent, ignoring Ranma's body language or any attempt to be recognized.

"Wait…you mean to say…no…don't tell me…"

The pop idol's face became as red as a volcano yet she kept quiet.

"We're in the same room…aren't we?"

Having enough of the thoughts that rabidly raced inside of her head, she let out a slight cry and let herself slouch down on her own bed which was situated next to Ranma's. "I'm sorry, okay…? I really didn't know that the hotel staff made this kind of error! There's a single bed suite for Compa, another one for Cave, a double-bed suite for Blanc and her sisters and there's us…"

"Me and Cave can switch if you want." Ranma spoke in a deadpan manner. "If it troubles you that much, we can just switch rooms."

"It's more complicated than that," Lyrica continued, still sounding somewhat embarrassed. She slapped both her reddened cheeks with her left hand so that she could regain her composure. "Cave has all of her intelligence documents and transmissions in her hotel room suite…she is the head of the SMD of Leanbox. I don't want to just interrupt her job like this!"

"Still, a guy and girl inside the same room…won't you feel uncomfortable?"

A voice from the suite entrance answered Ranma's concerned protest. "You won't have to worry about that, Ranma. In fact, it was I who set the rooms up."

Lyrica widened her eyes and said out loud, "It was you, Cave?!"

The SMD Officer walked into the hotel suite and continued her explanation, "You see, there have been some security concerns as of recently in Lastation, or so I've been told."

"Security concerns? Cave, what are you talking about?" pleaded Lyrica as she moved closer to her best friend.

"I don't know the details but there have been reported cases of kidnapping of highly prolific individuals this past week in the capital. This is probably one of the matters that Lady White Heart wants to discuss with Lady Black Heart."

"So…you had me and Ranma placed in the same hotel room because…"

"He would make a highly efficient additional bodyguard of sorts." Cave bluntly declared, "I detect a wide array of powerful energy inside of you, Ranma."

"It's nothing." He downplayed the fact in front of them so that he didn't find himself sounding like a cocky mouthed tool. "Why me though…?"

"Normally, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't let anyone else incapable or suspicious be near Lyrica when she's at her most vulnerable. Despite this, to me, it seems like Lyrica trusts you. No, trust isn't the word. She seems fond of you if anything."

Lyrica murmured as she sunk down slightly, "….C-cave…"

The SMD officer continued on with her analysis, eying the martial artist carefully. "In addition, you do not seem like a suspicious individual to my eyes. Not to mention that energy that keeps being emitted from you feels formidable."

"Why don't you do it?" Ranma casually questioned her, "I mean, Lyrica's your best friend, isn't she?"

"Me being put into the same room as her would increase the chances of endangering her safety. If the culprit of these incidents finds out that I'm anywhere near this floor, it'll make it easier for him or her to determine Lyrica's location. I'll be in my own suite downstairs data crunching the whereabouts of the culprit with my equipment. We know one thing for sure: these incidents aren't the result of an angry fan or a rabid fanatic. Lastation authorities are suspecting that the masterminds are remnants of ASIC but we have no evidence or testimony to prove this theory."

"That's right…" Ranma muttered to himself, "Mina also told me about them…ASIC…" Once more, he recalled the Oracle of Lowee's words carefully.

"_ASIC, otherwise known as Arfoire's Syndicate of International Crime, was a criminal organization that disguised itself as a black market chain, distributing goods illegally on the outside. In reality, they used it as means of hindering the Shares of our Goddesses, in other words, the crystalized form of faith from the people that keeps them in power. Their deity fell by the hands our Goddess and her comrades…yet her remnants remain to this day."_

"Hello…Ranma…Hello…Earth to Ranma!"

"Oh, sorry Lyrica." Ranma shook his head as he exited his long train of thought recalling Mina's description. "So, that's all there is to it, right Cave? I just have to keep guard over Lyrica."

"Precisely summarized," she coolly responded while she approached closer to the martial artist. "However, do remember. No matter how much Lyrica seems to trust you this very moment, remember this: she is a pop idol. I've notified the hotel staff that you are staying with her as a sanctioned bodyguard of the SMD so media sharks don't get the wrong ideas. In addition…"

The officer's voice became chilly and her emerald eyes became steel cold. "If you try to do something indecent or ill-minded to Lyrica, even at the slightest idea or passing thought, **you **_**will**_** answer to me personally. Understood?**"

Ranma swallowed a lump and he answered back, "Yes ma'am."

Following a reassured smile, Cave replied, "I'm glad you know where you stand at this moment, Ranma."

With that, she exited their hotel suit and left both the idol and the martial artist alone.

Lyrica bowed, feeling tense from her close friend's killer aura. "I'm very sorry, Ranma. Cave's by no means a horrible person. She's just really overprotective of me. We've known each other for a long time so she gets weary when it comes to situations like this. Please understand."

"No offense taken," he shot back, closing his eyes. "I can understand why she would warn me like that." Any other Average Joe in Gamindustri would have killed to be in Ranma's position: to be able to share a room with their world's sensational pop idol, even if it involved nothing platonic or risqué. By any means was Ranma not intimidated by Cave. Rather, he was more intimidated of the idea as to what Cave would do if something indecent were to happen to her close friend. "Hah…she really is a coldblooded ace soldier."

"Cave is a sweet person deep down." Lyrica argued, "You'd be surprised how self-conscious she gets when she's caught eating something sweet or contemplating on trying a frilly outfit on."

Ranma chuckled slightly at the thought. Perhaps there was more to her than meets the eye. He felt a little urged to ask Cave these questions but he declined the concept for now, wanting to make sure his martial artists' robe wouldn't risk being tattered with bullet holes.

"Anyways, I gotta head out now." Lyrica informed him as she made her way for the door. "I have rehearsals scheduled over at the capital arena dome today."

"So that explains the sneakers and the gym gear," Ranma observed her bag on the floor. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? I mean, Cave did entrust your safety to me…"

"It's okay, Cave reassured me," she answered, "The kidnappings so far have only happened at night. That and Cave has several Lastation Guard officials to escort me to where I need to be."

"That Cave…she really did pull all of the stops to ensure your safety…she really must love you that much…"

"H-HUH!?" Lyrica cried out, her face becoming as crimson as a ruby. Ranma stammered and shot back, "As a close friend of course. As a close friend!"

The pop idol puffed her cheeks and glared. "Meanie."

"I'm sorry, okay?" Ranma laughed somewhat, "Anyways…do take care of yourself. If you run into trouble, just scream. I'll be coming your way."

"How would you hear me anyways?" the idol remained somewhat skeptical. He shot back with a smile, "You'd be surprised how martial arts can enhance a person's five senses."

"Well…see you later," Lyrica said as she left the hotel suite which left Ranma alone once more. "I still got a good two hours or so until I can come to the Basilicom…eh, sure the wait won't be too long."

Half an hour passes inside their hotel room and the martial artist sits up on his bed once more, nearly dead from boredom. "Tch, maybe I'll just go out for a walk. The other won't mind I'm sure."

Of course, Ranma's idea of a walk meant him jumping out of his hotel suite's window and landing on the nearest adjacent roof top. He surveyed the industrial environment around him, eying where to go next. "Maybe I'll just get myself a bite to eat. Lyrica gave me some credits so I may as well."

With that, he hopped on over to the rooftop of the next building and onto the one after that. Being a martial artist truly did have its perks. One of them being the ability to casually jump from roof top to roof top and then calling it a simple walk around town.

Back inside his hotel room, the younger twin sisters of Blanc scurried through the suite entrance.

Ram called out, "Hey Ranma! Compa bought us this cool new comic book! Wanna read this with us? Uhhh…Ranma, where are you?"

Rom turned to her younger twin sister and softly suggested, "Maybe he's inside the bathroom…or in the lobby…"

"No way. Compa was with us the entire time and none of us saw him over there…he couldn't have…." Both of the twin sisters were quiet for a short while and in an instant, they both cried out in panic, "CAVE! RANMA'S GONE!"

It couldn't be helped, so they thought. They simply didn't have the gall to risk angering their older sister for losing track of the unpredictable martial artist.

* * *

Within the busy district of Lastation's down town plaza, Ranma had recently arrived near a fountain. He sat down to take a breather, most likely to lay low for the time being so that he didn't draw too much attention. He felt that he had done enough when an ongoing passer-by cried out, "It's a stunt man!" upon being witnessed.

"I'm hungry…that stand over there's selling some crepes…" He stood up from the bench he rested on and made his way for the food card. Suddenly…Thump!

"Owwwwwww! Watch where you're going! You could harm somebody with that careless behavior of yours!"

Ranma grunted. It wasn't like for him to bump into anybody, considering his enhanced senses as a martial artist. Yet it happened anyways. Well, no use on dwelling on it, or so he would have thought during this moment. However, none of those thoughts crossed his mind. Instead, he eyed what looked like a long-haired girl in a black dress with dual pigtails that were held by black and white ribbons. She moaned in minor ache as she sat on her bottom, rubbing her arms.

He sensed a kind of powerful energy similar to Blanc and her sisters…only this energy felt slightly different. He had no time to jump into any early conclusions, as he reached his hand out to the girl. "I'm really sorry…are you okay?"

"Hmph…I'm okay, naturally." The girl grabbed on to his hand and picked herself up from the ground. "Just watch where you're going next time. Do you realize who I am?"

"Uhhh…no, I don't." he bluntly shot back at the black haired girl.

With a cattish tone, she growled, "What are you, living under a rock or something?! I'm Uni! Lastation's CPU Candidate. I'm the younger sister of this nation's goddess, Noire. I'm going to be surpassing her when the time comes so I have to do everything I'm capable of before then!"

"Wait, did you say…Noire?" he muttered, "Say…you're her younger sister…right?"

"Did you not hear it the first time? Yes, I am her younger sister!"

"Alright, good. Tell me, how do I get to the Basilicom?"

"The Basilicom? Well…take a left from the north eastern exit of the plaza, go right around the nearest corner and walk six blocks, cross the street from there and you should arrive in front of the main tourist entrance. Do you have tour tickets perhaps? I can get the staff to validate them for you?"

"Nope, I'm no tourist," Ranma quickly said, "I need to see your sister."

Taken aback by the statement, the CPU Candidate stammered, "My sister? For what? Do you know her?" Before Uni could say anything else, he quickly disappeared from her line of sight.

She cried out, "W-where did you go? Just wait a minute! Do you have permission to see my sister? Come back here this instant or I will call the authorities for suspicious activity!"

When it became clear that her cries landed on deaf to non-existent ears, she groaned loudly in defeat. She drew out what looked like a cellphone and dialed a number. "Kei, we got a problem."

* * *

Within the grand infrastructure of Lastation's very own Basilicom…

"So…that's the situation, huh?" Blanc remarked as she finished her cup of tea. She was seated across Lady Black Heart herself, Noire, who filed through the various paperwork and documents.

Noire replied, "Exactly. My investigation teams have yet to reach any kind of lead or clue but there's a small chance that the data hackings and the kidnapping incidents may be ASIC related."

"If that's the case, then ASIC must be getting rather desperate," Blanc shot back sarcastically, ,"I mean, kidnapping prolific celebrities and data breaching…I mean, I wouldn't put ASIC above this low as hell move but I dunno…it's all too fishy to me. I know remnants from the organization are beyond desperate but these things drag too much attention. If anything, remnants would probably be keener on pulling closed-door operations than publicity stunts like this."

"Whatever the case," Noire stood up from her table and offered her hand to the Lowee Goddess, "We all must cooperate. Even if we are still competing for Shares, we are allies at heart…"

She calmly accepted Noire's handshake and commented, "Yeah…So, Thunder Tits and Dead Beat Slack-Off will be arriving here?"

Noire stated, "Vert and her team will be using a Terraportation ship so it should take her like a few hours to get here…tonight maybe. Neptune…well…I'm not even sure if she'll make it out of the front door regardless of Histoire's report."

"Histoire will find some way. Mina would have given up on her if she were Planeptune's Oracle," Blanc mused while she eyed the window to her right. She noticed something rather peculiar. "Oh look Noire. Looks like your security team's chasing somebody over at the roof tops near the Basilicom."

Noire widened her eyes and jolted in surprise, "You're kidding, right?!"

Noire ran past the other goddess and eyed the window, only to see a dark haired martial artist being chased by the Lastation security staff through the rooftops. "Dark shoulder length hair, black shirt and blue jeans. Must be a drunken college student."

Blanc's voice went cold upon hearing the goddess's description of the pursued. "Son of a bitch, you have to be kidding me!"

Noire turned to Blanc and asked, "Do you recognize that person?" Before she could answer, a rapidly violent sound filled the office and glass shattered in front of both goddesses. "Look out!" A loud thud shortly followed the shattering of the glassed window. A cloud of dust scattered everywhere within the office, which led Blanc to waving the particles off. "Fricking hell…what in god's name is he….oh shit."

In front of Blanc was a sight. A rather peculiar sight: one which couldn't be described in mere words. In front of her were the two unconscious forms of the security guards and…a chaos-attracting Ranma now lay on the floor with his arms cradled against the goddess of Lastation, most likely as means to shield her from the shattering glass. "You got to be fucking kidding me."

Noire opened her eyes and found her own face just inches away from Ranma's. Turning completely red, she shook it off and sat up, causing him in turn to do the same. Both now faced each other, sitting in cross legged position. Noire looked at the martial artist and glared while tints of red were evident on her cheeks, "Just what was that about? What gives you the authority to just wrap your own arms around me?!"

Ranma shrugged, "The glass could have hit you…so I did what I could…"

Before Noire could continue her rant any further…she felt something touch her right breast. She slowly looked down and noticed his left hand cupped around her chest. He spoke in a calm and collected manner, "Whoops. Guess my hand sort of slipped when you pulled the two of us up…"

SMASH! Ranma narrowly dodged a high speed punch that caused a mass crater to the wall behind him. He began to sweat somewhat, witnessing the power of a goddess yet he kept his cool. "Why don't we just talk this out over some tea, cakes and biscuits. Then we can come to an agreement."

Tears filling her eyes, her cheeks blazed with a red blush and her voice beginning to croak, she cried out loudly, **"****JUST…WHERE…ARE…YOU…TOUCHING…****…..YOU ****WILD ****WOLF!" **Her resounding roar is said by some to have echoed all of Gamindustri that very moment.

* * *

Two hours later, Lyrica found herself wrapping bandages around Ranma's right arm inside the Basilicom office. It wasn't because he sustained any serious injuries or because the goddess decided to enact wicked corporal punishment upon him. Rather, he had endured a series of cat-like scratches from the panicked and flustered goddess that followed up from her "misunderstanding". Not like it bothered Ranma. In his eyes, Akane did much worse. Least this didn't involve a mallet, let alone just mere cat-like scratches from a teary-eyed and embarrassed tsundere goddess.

"Really Ranma…" Lyrica scolded, her tone remained in a worried state, "You should have waited. I should have warned you not to wander off on your own…"

"It was Uni who called the security ops on me," Ranma calmly sighed, while eying the younger sister of the Lastation Goddess with a laid-back yet condensing look.

Uni puffed her cheeks and moaned, "I did what I had to do! I wasn't let in on the details about you being the visitor we were expecting. I thought you were one of those shady kidnappers!"

"Well, I wasn't," Ranma casually shot back as he stood up. He took a better look at Noire herself, who remained seated behind her desk. He thought, "She has that fiery look…something I'd expect from Akane…but….it feels like she's waaaay softer than her…these cat scratches are nothing compared to Mr. Mallet, that's for sure…I should probably apologize for the havoc I caused regardless."

He walked on over to the goddess's desk and bowed, "…Sorry about the ruckus."

Noire then proceeded to speak, albeit in a partially flustered yet angry tone of voice, "Sorry is an understatement…you should be thankful that I didn't have you thrown into a jail cell or kicked out of the Basilicom!"

"Noire is being really generous today," Kei mused at him, "Especially towards somebody whose hand made a rather perverted slip of position."

Noire moaned slightly, "Ugh, don't remind me, Kei…" She regained her composure and continued, "Anyways…because this was an error on my security team and on my sister's part…I'll let Lowee off from paying any property reparations." Ranma took a deep sigh of relief. If Noire was that fierce when she was angry, he didn't want to imagine Blanc at full throttle.

"However…" Noire continued in a strong sounding voice, "Your audience will be delayed to the day after tomorrow."

"Huh? Augh, you're kidding me," he grumbled somewhat while snapping his fingers.

Noire glared, "You should be grateful that this is all you're getting away with! I could have you banished from here for damage against a Basilicom under Gamindustri law and the indecent conduct against a goddess like myself."

"Like I said, I'm sorry, even if you think sorry isn't good enough," Ranma declared, "Fine then…I can wait a few days before you can answer my questions…"

Noire calmed down and shrugged, "Very well…just don't cause any more trouble, you wild wolf…5pb's concert here is tomorrow."

"Alright, I got you…"

Ranma was very well aware that the tsundere goddess was correct. He was well known for being a Wild Horse that served as an avatar to chaos…although wild wolf was a nickname given to him by the goddess that he oddly found himself amused with. Regardless, he vowed to be a bit more careful from now on…whether or not he was in his own world.

Noire walked away from her desk and made her way to the office exit, "If you excuse me, I'll be making my way to the gardens. Blanc has some documents for me down there and I…ACK!"

Uni cried out, "Sis!"

Thud! Noire felt like it just wasn't her day today. First, her Basilicom office found itself in near wreck thanks to a misunderstanding. Second, she had the honor of meeting the Wild Horse of Nerima himself at such an awkward circumstance. Now, having tripped over a piece of debris that was scattered near her office entrance, she found herself cradled within the strong arms of the martial artist himself being bridal-style carried.

He groaned, "For a goddess, you ought to watch where you're going…got it?"

Noire's face became red once more and she gave off a teary eyed glare. She softly huffed out. "Dummy."

Things were off to a rather hectic start, so thought both Cave and Lyrica.

_**Act V, Fin.**_

* * *

**Ranma :: Looks like it's going to be one hell of a concert.**

**Noire :: Don't lose focus. You're here as Lyrica's bodyguard, not just as a spectator.**

**Lyrica :: H-how do I look…Ranma?**

**Blanc :: …Cave and that martial artist…she seems to be mentioning him quite often…**

**Neptune :: C'mon Histy! Just send Nepgear over! I just wanna stay home!**

**Histoire :: I won't have any of this nonsense, Neptune!**

_**Next Time! Act VI – Concert Evening at the Land of Black Regality.**_

* * *

**Afterword ::**

I started this chapter at May but I kinda had another writer's block but I picked myself back up days back and resumed this chapter…and it's finished. Next one won't take 3 months like this one, I promise. (Hopefully.) Yes, the Neptunia anime is now airing and as for some questions from reviews…as to whether or not V happened, I will think about it…For the time being, the next chapter will mark Neptune and Vert's debuts and Lyrica's concert…following Ranma's combat debut. If anybody asks, no, this isn't going to turn into a generic "X has been kidnapped and Y must save her". Next chapter will focus on developments involving Noire and Ranma's heated first impressions on each other, Lyrica and Cave's sentiments and what's happening over at Vert and Neptune's sides. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please, do leave a review.


	7. Act VI - Concert Eve in Lastation

**DISCLAIMER ::** I do not own Neptunia or Ranma Half.

* * *

**Act**_** VI - Eve of Concert in the Land of Black Regality**_

_Several minutes prior to the Ranma and Noire Basilicom office incident…_

A long-haired brunette wearing a blue coat surveyed her surroundings in front of the Basilicom Palace's main plaza. She had several straps of cellphones around her outfit, part of her long brown hair tied with a green ribbon to form a side tail around her bangs and an air of eccentric confidence that rang about her. She paced back and forth, sending various text messages. "Tch…she hasn't answered any of my e-mails…she should have arrived at the capital by now."

"Iffy!" a familiar voiced called out for her from the other side of the plaza.

"Compa?!" the girl thought and she turned to her right and sure enough, she saw said mentioned Planeptune nurse rushing for her. In a matter of seconds, the brunette was tackled by Compa while her face was buried against her chest.

"I've missed you so much, Iffy!" Compa cheered while retaining her close friend with a tight embrace.

"For crying out loud, Compa! It's only been like a week!" the girl, IF of the Planeptune Intelligence Agency, also identified by her nickname, "Iffy", stammered yet she found herself enjoying her embrace. "Never mind that…I'm glad you could make it here…"

"Iffy, did something happen?" she questioned the brunette with puzzled eyes. "You told me to come here as soon as possible. I'm sorry if I couldn't come much sooner…"

"Nah, you're not at fault," she responded, "…it's not that major but I wanted you here as soon as possible…it's about the guilds…"

"What about them…?" she replied. The blue coated warrior continued, "They have some valuable information for you involving rare medicines within uninhabited regions in Gamindustri. I thought they'd be really useful to you, now that your medical convention is over. That and I just wanted us to meet up. We'll be returning to Planeptune tomorrow."

"That means…I have to part ways with Mr. Ranma," Compa thought, feeling somewhat gloomy. She then remembered, "Oh right, I'm supposed to be looking for Mr. Ranma!"

"Wait, who the heck is Ranma? Oh right, that guy you mentioned in one of your text messages. What's he like?"

**CRASH!** The brunette, Compa and many others within the crowd became witnesses to what looked to be a shattering explosion of glass on the top floor of the Basilicom…in other words, the office. The crowds in the plaza became scattered in panic. Clusters and flurries of voices roared through the commotion. Well, in one form, IF's question was answered for her unknowingly.

* * *

Inside the very comfort of her own bedroom, Noire adjusted herself to the nearby seat which faced her personal laptop. Tomorrow was going to be another busy day, one which mostly consisted of preparing documents for the following week. After a long day of work, it was that time of evening where the goddess could simply relax.

She had just finished washing her face, brushing her teeth and undoing the ribbons that held her pigtails up during the day. She grabbed a hair brush from the side of the desk and began to soothingly stroke her long raven colored hair with it. While she did everything she could to maintain a calm look, she couldn't exactly lie to herself.

"Today did not go as expected," Noire cursed in her own thoughts while the rhythmic pattern of her brush strokes continued. She reclined on her seat just slightly, letting her hair fall behind the spindle of the chair. She took a deep breath and let her train of mixed sentiments continue. "I expected him to be suspicious but by no means did I expect his actions to generate such…such…"

The raven haired goddess fumed at just the mere recollection of what took place inside her Basilicom earlier that day. Tens of thousands of credits worth of property damage and not once but twice did the martial artist catch the goddess off guard and saw through her icy cool façade as a goddess who wished to do "only everything" for her nation. She felt absolutely insulted that day.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Who is it?" she called out, looking over her shoulder from where she sat.

"Sis, it's me. Can I come in?"

"Uni…? Alright then, hold on a sec," Noire replied and went on over to open the door for her younger sister. As soon as the door opened, Uni rushed passed her and sat on the right side of her bed seconds later. It was going to be one of these talks, her intuition as an older sister believed. Noire walked on over and took a seat next to Uni in bed, mentally preparing herself for a long conversation tonight.

"I thought you were already asleep. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow so you should be getting all of the rest you can get. Is something the matter, Uni?"

The CPU Candidate held on to the side of Noire's black sleeping gown as her eyes appeared dull, if not a little gloomy. She began to utter out without making it sound like a whimper, "I'm really sorry. If I didn't call security, then the damage to the Basilicom wouldn't have…"

"You're still thinking about that?" Noire cut her off with a puzzled expression. "You did what was needed. You used your own intuition as a goddess in training. The property damage was troubling but the office should be in top shape again by tomorrow night. Don't fret over it."

"I know, I know…" moaned Uni, tracing circles against her older sister's gown, "…but…I'm going to succeed you one day…I know I can't keep ignoring that fact. I want to be able to do 'just everything' too. Like you sis!"

"Uni, you're already doing 'just everything'…" Noire reassured Uni as she slowly caressed the strands of her dark hair, "…however, doing 'just everything' doesn't include straining yourself. You've done so many things for all of our friends. Nepgear included. You do treasure her, right?"

"O-of course…I mean…what I meant to say was…well…as a friend," Uni stuttered between phrases, trying to divert the course of the conversation, "I mean, what would Nepgear do without me?"

Noire couldn't help but chuckle slightly. It felt too similar to how she felt about Neptune as both her close friend and her rival. "See? You know that you're already doing 'just about everything'."

"I just have to be more careful," Uni continued for her older sister, "…thanks…for listening to me, I mean." The CPU candidate leaned closer to give Noire a tight hug. Momentarily, she let go and rushed for the bedroom door. "Good night Noire."

Noire replied back, "Sweet dreams, Uni." Once more, the Goddess of Black Regality was alone. She sunk down into her bed, laying down in exhaustion. It wasn't anything new. She had been strict to Uni in the past but most of it stemmed from her desire to make her younger sister into a goddess who would one day be fit to rule their nation. There were times where she felt as if she treated her sister too harshly and times where she questioned her role as an older sister.

Needless to say, every time Uni poured her emotions out to her older sister, it made Noire feel a little bit better….

* * *

"Blanc hasn't said a word to you?" Lyrica spoke from inside the hotel suite shower room. "You said that she didn't seem angry when you last saw her."

"Well, she didn't," Ranma answered back as he sat on the side of his bed while his gaze kept focus on the beautiful evening cityscape of Lastation's capital. "She seemed more quiet than usual. She practically gave me the cold shoulder treatment save one thing she told me before I got back to the hotel room."

"_Tch…I don't want to catch you stirring shit up like that again, jackass. I won't waste my time giving you a rant about it…you know very well where you stand."_

"I feel bad now," he groaned while reminiscing on Blanc's words, "She probably wanted to beat me into tar for wrecking her meeting with Noire. Yet she's putting of all that self-control over her temper for the sake of her friends."

"It wasn't exactly your fault," Lyrica argued, still inside the shower, "…the security ops had no idea that Noire was expecting you but you're kind of at fault too. I mean, jumping from roof top to roof top. Really, Ranma?"

"I'm used to it. At least from where I came from," he shot back, sounding somewhat dull, "My old man trained me in the most rigorous of martial arts and the like so stuff like acrobatics, walking over hazardous places and stunt-like maneuvers were common ground for me."

"Hmmm…I never did ask about your family, Ranma. What were they like?"

No response was generated from the travelling martial artist. The idol stammered from behind the shower room door, "O-Oh god. I'm sorry for bringing that up…"

"Nah, I'm just exhausted…that's all," Ranma exhaled, feeling himself close to just collapsing into bed, "I need to do what I'm capable of in order to make it up to them. Blanc and Noire. I know I haven't gotten along with Blanc but I still feel like crap after that incident. Blanc probably had every justification in existence to kick my carcass out of her group yet she lets me off with a warning…"

"You can repay hers and Noire's generosity by not letting your curiosity get to the best of you," Lyrica advised him as she exited the shower at long last, wearing a bathrobe.

"I dunno what is it with me," Ranma chuckled somewhat with a cynical tone, "I always have this affinity to mayhem everywhere I go. Even when I'm probably trillions of light years away from 'them', that affinity doesn't seem to disappear." He expanded this sentiment within his own private thoughts, "Even with the Jusenkyo Curse gone…it feels no different."

Lyrica sat back on her own bed, facing Ranma eye to eye. She began, "Well…you don't have the worst of intentions and that's all that matters. I don't think you're an eyesore at all."

"You don't? I would have expected somebody like you to just get tired of what I'm capable of attracting," he remarked, noting the idol's calm hearted expression.

"I think you're a strong person," she commented, "I don't mean by strong as in physically strong. I mean strong as in strong at heart. You've told me many things during our trip about the life of a martial artist yet all I've seen in your eyes is a person who wants to find an answer to his life. Somebody who wants to gather enough strength to find that answer they're looking for. That's the kind of person you come off to me as, Ranma."

"Flattering words for a mere ronin like myself," he grinned slightly while scratching his head. "Eh, no use dwelling on this. Don't worry about me. I'll think of something tomorrow."

He drew out the curtains that separated his and Lyrica's individual beds inside of the hotel suite. "Good night Lyrica."

"Sweet dreams," yawned Lyrica as she let herself fall onto bed. Within minutes, both idol and martial artist were consumed by their dreams once more until morning came.

* * *

At the outskirts of the Lastation capital, within the open fields of the Terraportation Station, a grand ship-like vessel slowly but steadily landed. Two rows of Lastation soldiers assembled near the exit of the vessel as a mobile staircase was brought forward by the Station staff. The Lastation Guard posed with their rifles, followed by a rigid and direct salute as a custom of welcoming a foreign guest of high power. In the middle of these two rows of soldiers, Kei Junguji awaited her arriving guests.

The Terraportation Ship's exit opened and two figures descend down the mobile platform ladders. The first among them is a beautiful, long-haired blonde woman, wearing an outfit resembling a classic green dress. She was a curvaceous individual whose azure eyes seemed like they could gaze into every fiber of a single individual. Eyes that screamed, "The gentle ones see through all." She gracefully surveyed her surroundings as she made her descent towards the Lastation oracle.

Following the blonde, a woman with long mint-colored exited the Terraportation ship. She carried two sets of massive suitcases with a clear minded smile that screamed "I'm here to serve". She wore a black dress and two dark ribbons kept her high ponytail suspended.

Seconds later, Kei faced both individuals with an "all business" stance being hinted by her body language.

"I'm glad you could make it to the capital, Vert."

Vert, otherwise known as Green Heart, replied with an easygoing handshake with the shorter girl. "It's been such a long time since I last saw you, Kei. How have Noire and Uni been faring?"

"They've been well enough," she commented while her attention kept focus at the mint-haired woman behind her who rushed back into the Terraportation ship to draw more suitcases out. "Uni's getting the hang of her personal duties much better than before and she's already doing as much paperwork as her sister on a daily basis."

"Here's the last of your suitcases, my darling sister!" the other woman swooned as she dropped a 3rd and heavy suitcase on the ground.

Kei gave the mint-haired woman a cynically sarcastic look in the eye, "You haven't changed one bit, Chika. You're Leanbox's Oracle. Why you chose to accompany Vert while you should have stayed behind to keep things in check back at your nation is beyond me."

"M-Miss Hakozaki…you're breathing really rapidly!" a maid clad in green, an aide from Leanbox, rushed out from the ship in order to attend to the older woman. "Please, let us carry Lady Vert's luggage!"

"Silence!" she hissed back in a prideful tone of voice, "I, Chika Hakozaki, the High Oracle of Leanbox, will not let myself be easily faltered by such meager and trivial tasks! This is nothing compared to what my dear sister puts up with on a daily basis! Besides, ASIC is far from a threat these days and I have the entire council back in our nation keeping tabs of things. Under my surveillance of course." The last part, she uttered out with a hint of mischievous malice.

"Just cut the long speeches short," Kei cut off any further rambling from the fanatical Oracle, "I'll have my men carry your luggage to the transport vehicle. We'll bring you to your hotels in the capital momentarily. I assume all of you had a rather occupying voyage?"

"Well, yes. Not because I found the trip boring," Vert spoke up, her gaze being directed at the Terraportation transport's entrance. "We have more arrivals unveiling themselves shortly."

"Auuugh! Man, I'm so sleepy!" an energetic sounding female voiced whined and ranted on, "I didn't even have any pudding on the way here!"

"Neptune, please behave yourself!" a much calmer female voice scolded. She went on, "Kei and her troops came all this way to welcome us all at this time of night and here you are whining like a spoiled child."

"Mou…I told Histy that Miss Lonely Heart is probably just overreacting. One lil' data breach won't do any major damages to our security systems and they didn't."

"It's been bothering Kei and Noire. That's saying a lot. Take these meetings more seriously and I'll have Histoire make us some of that pudding from her old recipe book."

"Hooray! You're the best, Nepgear!"

Kei closed her eyes and snorted, having become a tiny bit annoyed. "Of course, I should have predicted this. There was no chance that her leaving even past the front door would have gone smoothly." She left behind her thoughts that left traces of inconvenience and said out loud, "I'm glad you could make it, Neptune."

Two individuals stepped out of the Terraportation ship's entrance and made their descent. Among these two was a short purple haired girl with d-pad hairclips, wore stripped stockings with a similarly colored white hoodie jacket that had purple linings around it and maintained an easy going yet evidentially bored "I wanna go home now" expression. The taller girl next to her had longer purple hair with similar d-pad hairclips, wore a white sailor schoolgirl uniform with purple linings and similarly to her sister, she had on a white choker around her neck.

These two were the CPU and CPU Candidates of Planeptune, respectively.

Vert chuckled, "Histoire called me earlier after the official declarations were sent. Neptune wouldn't even get out of the door, let alone her own bed so…she called me over and requested permission that I travel to Planeptune via the Terraportation ship and personally help Nepgear 'escort' her here…if escort means helping Histoire drag Neptune out of bed, that is."

"You're an ogre, Vert," Neptune moaned, "I was so busy today."

"Yeah, stuffing your own mouth with those chips I bought you yesterday," sighed Nepgear, turning to her sister, "This is an important matter, Neptune. You're this nation's goddess yet sometimes you play around a bit too much."

"There hasn't been an incident since the last one…" Neptune protested, "Besides, good ol' Noire could easily fix this mess up by herself."

"I'm more or less surprised that she willingly called Blanc out of all people over," Kei added to their conversation, "Those two fight like cats and dogs especially."

"Why don't we all cut this meager chit chat out and just get going already?!" Chika interrupted the group with her voice raised, "My darling sister's MMO Guild is in danger and unless we head to the nearest hotel with a PC, her records are doomed!"

"Still going on with the 'Vert is my sister' charade as always, huh Chika?" Kei gazed at her while she spoke condescendingly, "Guess some things never really change. I think our round of greetings overstayed its welcome. Best we move on back to the capital. Due to security reasons, all of you are to stay in a separate hotel from Blanc's group until tomorrow evening."

"Awww poo, there goes staying up late with Iffy and Compa to play card games…" Neptune pouted.

"I wanted to see Uni too but I take it that she's fast asleep by now," Nepgear said with a disappointed tone in her voice, "We can see each other tomorrow morning then…"

"Well, shall we be off?" Kei directed their attention to a black SUV that was stationed near the position troops. "All 5 of us can fix with the driver included."

With that, the black SUV drove to the capital…and soon, a new day would begin.

* * *

Inside the privately booked dining hall of the hotel, Ranma Saotome quietly consumed his breakfast. At 6:00 AM, both of them had gotten up earlier than the rest. As a result, Compa took the chance to ask the hotel staff if they could access their rented dining hall and its kitchen early in order to prepare breakfast for everyone else in advanced.

"We didn't have the chance to introduce ourselves properly since the incident yesterday," IF broke the ice. She sat down across the table from Ranma and grabbed a croissant from the basket and put it on her plate. She skipped to the formalities, "My name is IF. I'm a Guild member and an operative of Planeptune's intelligence agency. You must be Ranma, right?"

"Yeah. A pleasure to meet you," he greeted after downing his 2nd plate of eggs and bread rolls. IF commented, "Gee, you have a big appetite, huh?"

"It's not that. I hadn't had the chance to eat anything at all last night," he shrugged, putting his plate aside.

"Did Blanc send you to bed without supper?" IF sarcastically asked. She eyed the annoyed expression on Ranma's face who simply tapped his fingers on the table.

"Not that! Too much happened…that's all…Compa called me up for dinner last night but I had a lot of things in my mind," he said after taking a sip of his orange juice, "So I just skipped dinner and lay down in bed until Lyrica came back. By the way…did you stay in this hotel too?"

"I booked my room last night," she informed him, "I was initially staying somewhere else but then I ran into Compa so I transferred hotels."

"You really must care a great deal for Compa, huh?" Ranma commented. The brunette's cheeks became somewhat red, "Yeah…well…we're friends. Close friends. Simple as that."

"Anybody want seconds?" Compa called out from the kitchen counter, holding up two plates of freshly fried eggs. IF walked over to the counter and complimented, "This smells nice…what kind of spices did you use for these?"

"Nothing special, honestly," Compa shook her hands off and continued, "Just a few local spices from downtown Lastation. Nothing else…"

"So…after we eat breakfast, we'll be both heading back to Planeptune." IF reminded her ditzy nurse friend. Said nurse gloomed upon being reminded of the sad reality, "Oh…right…"

"Compa, you're leaving so soon?" Ranma asked her.

"I'm afraid so. I only accompanied you all to Lastation because Iffy asked me to come here. Now her business in Lastation is finished, we have to head back to Planeptune," she said with a wave of sadness in her voice, "I wanted to keep travelling with my friends but even then we would have to go our separate ways eventually…like before."

"Awwww geez Compa, it's so early in the morning and you have to be all wishy washy and sentimental? Saying good bye doesn't mean it's over, you know?" huffed a cheerfully hyper voice from the dining hall entrance. Ranma and his group turned their direction to the purple haired girl with the hoodie who waved her hand at the group. "Iffy, Compa~! It's been a while!"

Her long haired younger sister followed, panting in exhaustion. She ranted, "Sis…please…you were running so fast…I couldn't even catch up…control yourself…hah….Oh my goodness…Compa! Iffy!"

Compa widened her eyes and cried out, "…Nep-Nep?! Ge-Ge!? What are you two doing here?"

The Goddess of Planeptune herself rushed past Ranma and tackled the fluffy nurse with a tight embrace. "Awesome! I thought you and Iffy would have already gone back to Planeptune by now but you guys are still here!"

Nepgear turned to IF and hugged her lightly, "I've missed you both so much…"

"Me and Compa have been gone for like what, 2 or 3 weeks? We were heading back to the capital shortly anyways," Iffy said as her face continued to flush.

Nepgear informed them both, "About that…Histoire sent us a message. Iffy, she wants you to stay with me and sis…same with Compa…"

"Wait, before I forget, what are you both doing here?" Iffy demanded to know while her arms were kept cross.

"Ugh. Ummm, yeah. About that. Histy went all bonkers on me because I wanted to stay home instead of going to some boring emergency meeting Noire laid out…like, she needs to chill," Neptune casually laughed while putting her arms behind her head.

"You made Histoire have to call Vert just so she could pick us up," fumed Nepgear, eying her sister with an embarrassed stare. "Seriously, Histoire dragging you out of bed was too awkward to watch."

"Well, we're here so no use complaining now," Neptune said with a sing sang tone of voice while approaching the breakfast table. If there was one thing Neptune was known for, it was her ability to play her part when it mattered, despite the lazy air surrounding her personality.

"Wait, Vert is here too?" Compa questioned in a puzzling tone of voice.

"Uh-huh," Neptune musically answered, "Even Chika came with her. She even brought all of their BL and MMO games with them. Talk about dedication."

"More like talk about flat out weird," IF said while placing her hands on her hips. "Well, looks like we're going to be staying here a little while longer."

"Ooohhh, did you know Miss Lyrica has her concert tonight?!" Compa excitingly asked while she rushed over to Nepgear. "We should watch it together! Lyrica says she got us VIP seats. I'll ask her if she can get any more for you and Nep-Nep."

"A free concert's awesome in my book," Neptune laughed and then suggested, "I still think you should get into the idol business, Nepgear."

"Sis, that was one incident. One incident with a promotional music video we both made," Nepgear flailed her arms, refusing her older sister's suggestions. "We're goddesses, not idols. Besides, competing against 5pb would be so weird."

"Awwwww, you're no fun, Nepgear," her older sister snickered slightly. She wrapped her right arm around the younger sister's shoulders and grinned. She continued, "Our shares practically went up with that one video and don't forget…You did perform for a crowd with Uni, Ram and Rom that one time in Leanbox."

"That was years ago, sis…" Nepgear moaned quietly as if to dodge any further questions. "Well, never mind that. Blanc and the others are in the upper floors of the hotel, right?"

"They're sleeping quietly in their suites," Compa answered, "They should be awake in half an hour. I've got breakfast already laid out for the most part. Lyrica has her big concert tonight so she'll be spending all day doing rehearsals before her big show."

"So, now can we eat?" Neptune pleaded as she drooled over the freshly cooked set of eggs and croissants near the counter. Compa winked and answered, "Go right ahead. You and Ge-Ge must really be hungry."

"Neato!" exclaimed Neptune as she drew a chair out from the table. "I haven't tasted Compa's cooking in like..forever."

"That's because you always eat junk food," Nepgear put her hand over her face, "If you want some home cooking while Compa and Iffy are occupied, you could just ask me to make something for you. I don't want to watch you stuff yourself with chips and chocolate sticks on a daily basis you know."

"I'm a goddess. We don't gain weight," Neptune casually mused as Compa set her plate down in front of her. "Ahhh, whatever. Time to dig in! Nepgear! Come and sit! These smell absolutely irresistible."

"**AHEM," **Ranma coughed loudly with a "Hello, I'm still here" look in his eyes.

"Goodness gracious, I'm so sorry," Compa gasped and bowed in apology. "We were so preoccupied catching up on old times that we've completely forgotten about your very existence!"

"I wouldn't go that far," Ranma shrugged, "Sorry about that though…"

"Nah, I feel where you're coming from," IF leaned against a nearby wall and commented, "I don't like being left in the dark like an invisible gold coin either."

"Like the Ancient Planeptunians used to say," Neptune sarcastically spoke out, "An invisible wall being ignored is like a party without the spice."

"That made no damned sense at all," IF groaned, "Stop taking and modifying lines from that weird skateboarding show you and Nepgear keep watching."

"Well, whatever. Let's skip to the formalities. Y'know. The typical JRPG element," Neptune extended her hand to Ranma's. "The name is Neptune. Planeptune's gorgeous CPU."

"In other words, the idiot who runs the place…sadly," IF snidely remarked. Neptune pouted, "Meanie…"

"She looks and sounds like a complete ditz…but…for some reason, I feel that there's more to her than meets the eye," he thought to himself as he accepted her offer to a handshake. After shaking Neptune's hand, Ranma saw Nepgear approach him.

"My name is Nepgear. I'm Planeptune's CPU candidate…in other words…I'm Neptune's younger sister. It's a pleasure to meet you," she greeted with the most heart melting smile she could muster. "I hope we can all be good friends."

Ranma felt his face fume just a tiny bit. He realized how much of a heartwarming aura the CPU candidate possessed. He thought, "That smile…really gives off that 'the girl next door' kind of vibe…"

"So, what brings both you goddesses to this nation?" asked Ranma.

"Lonely Heart wanted me and Vert to come and discuss data breaching issues…of course, I had better things to do but Histy had to drag me out of bed and here I am," Neptune said with a somewhat annoyed tone in her voice. "No use complaining now though. I'm here so I may as well amuse Lonely Heart."

"…..whose Lonely Heart?" the martial artist had to ask.

"She means Noire," IF deadpanned, "Don't let that give you the wrong idea, however. The two of them are as close as best friends can get. It's just Neptune teases her from time to time."

"I can see why," Ranma remarked. He stood up from his table and brought his plate to the sink. "You sure you don't want me to help out inside the kitchen?"

"No, I'm good," Compa reassured him, "You should get some more rest today. Your audience with Noire isn't until tomorrow. Lyrica has her concert later so Cave is probably going to ask you to be a bodyguard for the event."

"Right…" Ranma sighed.

In one instant, the doors of the dining hall entrance opened one more and familiar faces made their arrival.

"Speak of the devil," Blanc half-groaned as she gazed at Neptune. She walked over to the Planeptunian goddess who was preoccupied with breakfast. "So, what kind of bribe did Histoire offer you? A 5 year supply of all the junk food you can buy?"

"You're so mean, Blanc," Neptune shot back after finishing her glass of orange juice, "Histy made Vert come over and pick us up."

"Hot damn, she even got Thunder Tits involved. A new low," the brunette goddess said in a somewhat analytical manner. "Ah, Nepgear. How was that book I lent you?"

"It was really good, Blanc…I have the book in my hotel room so I'll be sure to return it," Nepgear complimented the other goddess.

Blanc cracked a small smile, something she rarely did except to the people she was close to. "Glad you liked it."

Blanc walked passed Ranma without saying a word and headed to the kitchen counter to get her food.

"Hey Blanc…I just wanted to say I was sorry," Ranma attempted to apologize before Blanc cut him off.

"Just don't land yourself in any more trouble…got it?" she coldly said before walking on over to another table to enjoy her breakfast in quiet peace.

Ranma could only groan. It was obvious that the snowy goddess was still angry at him for the ruckus he had caused. There wasn't any use in forcing the situation or so he believed. "I should just take it easy for now…if I try anything else…I could just make the situation worse."

"Ooohhhh, Blanc sounded so mad," Neptune suddenly rushed over to Ranma's side. She started coaxing him into spilling the details, "So, what happened? Did you two suddenly fall in love? Did you break her poor, romantic heart?"

"Nothing of the sort," Ranma answered back. Neptune continued for him, "Ahhh right…that little incident in Noire's Basilicom…she told me the details through a text message last night…still…you oughta feel privileged. Getting so clooooooose and personal to this nation's beautiful raven haired goddess!"

"Tch," Ranma glared slightly for a second but his expression returned to its calm state in a few seconds. "Eh. Whatever. I'm just gonna go walk around town."

"Don't screw any buildings over," Blanc called out from her breakfast table in a catty sounding voice.

"Alright, mom," Ranma annoyingly replied back, addressing the goddess as such as if to brighten the mood somewhat. It partially worked as by the time he left the dining hall, Neptune was already rolling on the floor and laughing her heart off. On the other hand…

"Jackass," Blanc hissed and then pouted quietly, "…that idiot really loves making people worried…I just don't want you to get hurt..."

Nepgear was within earshot when Blanc muttered those very words. "Hmmm…."

* * *

"Thank you very much for finding the time to give your reports, Cave," Noire said while she meticulously filed her documents for the following week.

Cave stood straight in front of the Lastation Goddess's desk while retaining a dignified air surrounding her stature. "It's no trouble at all, Lady Noire. If I may ask, where is younger sister at this time?"

"She went out to meet up with Nepgear," Noire answered while eying the PC screen that was situated to the left side of her desk. She continued, "Neptune and Vert are coming here at noon for our talks involving the data breaches. Kei's already rescheduled that troublesome martial artist for tomorrow."

"Ranma you mean…" Cave commented, "He didn't have any ill intentions. It was a simple misunderstanding on all of our parts. I'm not putting the blame on Uni but on circumstance in general."

"I understand that clearly," Noire retorted, "However…he could have just let himself be taken under their custody and explain everything afterwards…as opposed to causing this."

The last part she uttered out while pointing to the various construction men inside her office fixing up the walls.

"Oddly enough, Lyrica…I mean Miss 5pb appears to trust him greatly," she said with an observing look on her face, "He feels like a powerful and competent fighter as well…"

"Cave, we're all friends here," Noire stated, "You can address 5pb by her real name if you want…you don't have to go 'too' overboard with the formalities."

"I apologize," answered Cave. "I do mean what I say about Ranma. Lyrica…she really does put a lot of trust into him…She's a shy girl. She's capable of opening up to her closest of friends…yet she has no trouble expressing her trust towards him, even after that incident."

"It was Lyrica who patched him up after our fiery goddess here clawed at his arm like a scratching post," Kei commented as she entered the broken down office with a snide tone in her voice.

"Well, how was I supposed to react when I found his hand on my chest?!" Noire fumed at her Oracle, "He should be thankful enough that I let him free without any serious punishment or any kind of charges against Lowee in property damage."

"The past is the past," Cave remarked, "We're here to discuss the future…so…for the most part, we've confirmed that he doesn't seem to be lying…he virtually knows nothing about this place and he has possessions that don't seem to be of this world…so…in the situation that any of the scientific institutes from any of our nations can't find a way to send him home….what will happen…in the situation that he knows too much?"

Thus, the figurative crickets in the office chirped loudly than their voices did.

"Well…we're no charity," Kei commented first, "However…I could just offer him a job as a soldier in the Lastation Defense Forces…lodging would come with his salary assuming that 2% of his salary would be taken as tax interest to the government…and if what you say is true Cave, he could make a good asset to us. You know me well. I'm not keen on wasting away potential that would benefit out nation."

"Why are we even discussing this so early?" Noire questioned her Oracle's logic. "None of us have seen him fight before. Whether or not he's lying doesn't matter to me. Whatever happens to him afterwards is no skin off my bones. Don't decide things too quickly until we've finished my audience with this individual."

"I suppose we can't disagree with that," Cave stated, "Regardless…he does have potential. Maybe it's me overanalyzing all of this but who knows. He may surprise us."

"Yeah, like with what he did with my office!" the goddess growled. Kei shot back, "Still…jumping from roof top to roof top in such an easy going fashion intrigues me no matter how many times I review the footage. Beyond the capabilities of a normal human, that's for sure."

"Hmph, think what you want Kei but I'm not convinced," Noire spoke with a light glare. She stormed out of her office shortly after.

"You're too easy to read, Noire," was all that Kei could utter out of her mouth that very moment.

* * *

Several hours had passed and soon enough, the night skies and its stars reigned over the capital. It was now 9:00 PM. Just half an hour before the idol 5pb a.k.a. Lyrica was to hold her first major concert in Lastation's home soil.

The Imperial Memorial Park in down town Lastation was flooded with her fans from all walks of life in Gamindustri, be it male or female. Many of them had set up tents around certain areas in the grassy pastures of the park, some had taken refuge on nearby benches with glow sticks ready and others rushed to various snack venders in preparation for the show. On the center field of the Memorial Park, a grandiose circular stage with spotlights surrounding it had been erected and the crowds gathered around it, awaiting their idol.

"They sure are riled up for this," Ranma said while grazing past the sea of fans that swarmed past him.

Cave followed up on his comment. "Lyrica's concerts are always this packed. I didn't imagine it would be this crowded though. It's her first official performance in Lastation. It just means she's gotten to this point of popularity…I'm truly happy for her."

"You've known Lyrica for a long time, I take it?" he asked.

"You could say so…I met 5pb just when her idol career was kicking off. I was a rookie in the Special Mission Department of Leanbox. I was assigned to become her bodyguard for her debut concerts…Eventually, we got to know each other more and…here we are…she's somebody precious to me…and I couldn't bear imagine something happening to her and me unable to do anything…"

Cave shook her thoughts off and regained her icy cool façade, "Look at me…dwelling on the past like this…a soldier like myself shouldn't be wasting too much time on what is done…the future is what I'll continue to look forward to."

"There's no shame in reminiscing," Ranma argued, "Sure, maybe it'll be painful sometimes and maybe it'll be difficult…but we've had 'some' precious memories out of our experiences…for better or worse."

"Since when did you become the philosophical type, Ranma?" she asked with an unassuming look on her face.

"Jeez, what's with that look?" the martial artist growled slightly, "Here I am giving you advice and you suddenly wonder why I'm not acting like some goofy jock?"

"That isn't what I meant," retorted Cave. She sighed and then said, "Forget it….but…thanks for listening."

"No prob," Ranma uttered out. By the time they had finished conversing through the crowds, they had already reached their destination by then.

"So, these are the VIP seats, huh?" Ranma asked as he directed his attention at several couches that were placed just a few meters away from the circular stage. The couches were situated just against two layers of crowd control barriers that encircled the circular stage and its grassy area.

Cave walked up to a female attendant and handed her two cards, "My name is Cave of the Leanbox SMD. I'm here to confirm permission to enter the VIP area with this man, who is a sanctioned bodyguard of the organization." The woman looked through the papers for a short while and then gave them both a nod. "Alright, you're free to go."

She opened part of the crowd control barrier and then immediately closed it after letting both individuals in so that a crowd swarm could be avoided.

"Hey Cave! Ranma!" Compa called out from one of the couch seats.

"So this is the VIP seating…Not bad. Not bad at all," Ranma remarked as he sat himself on a recliner couch next to where Compa and IF sat.

IF stated, "Neptune and Nepgear went to get some snacks from a nearby shop so they should be back in the VIP area when the show's going to start."

"Where's this nation's goddess?" he questioned the absence of a certain tsundere.

"Noire has paperwork to attend to," IF informed him, "So she sadly won't be watching the show with us."

Ranma looked to his left and noticed Blanc seated with both of her younger sisters on the couch next to his.

"Hey Blanc…you're still…" he began to speak but was sub-sequentially cut off by the very mentioned goddess.

"So, you just stayed inside the hotel the entire day…nothing else?"

"Like I had a damn choice," he retorted, sounding somewhat blunt. "…but I caused you enough trouble the other day so…tch…I'm not really good with apologies so bear with me…sorry about the other day…giving you all that grief I mean."

Blanc didn't give him any further looks. Rather, she simply said in a soft spoken manner, "…fricking dumbass…just be careful next time…okay?"

The martial artist couldn't help but grin slightly. He and the brunette goddess weren't exactly on best terms yet he found himself relieved that she had forgiven him. "Alright then…"

Compa whispered to IF, "Iffy…where's Vert…we haven't seen her all day…but she was in the meeting with Noire and Nep-Nep today…"

IF whispered back, "…no clue…I haven't seen her fangirl Oracle either. I wonder if they have other business needed to be dealt with. It's odd. You'd think the Goddess of Leanbox would be here to see her nation's star idol perform for the first time in foreign soil."

Suddenly, Kei rushed through the crowd barriers and tugged on Ranma's shirt sleeve. "We need you. Now."

Ranma pushed the Oracle back and stammered, "Hold on there! What the heck happened exactly? What's so urgent all of a sudden?"

Kei declared, "We haven't made any emergency broadcasts…but…there's a Fenrir running lose near the capital's entrance."

The color on both IF and Compa's faces drained away. "A…Fenrir?!"

Blanc stood up and glared, facing the Oracle. "Is this some sick ass practical joke? No way in hell a Fenrir could make it all the way to the capital unnoticed by the border patrol, let alone the capital security."

"My division is reporting that it appeared out of nowhere," Kei spoke with a stone cold tone in her voice. "My troops currently have the beast detained but I'm afraid that they won't be able to hold it off from storming into the city for too long. If it reaches the park…there'll surely be mass havoc and heavy casualties…"

Without thinking about it any further, Ranma asked the Oracle. "Where's this thing being held back?"

Kei informed him, "The southern entrance gate of the capital. If you take the road that's south east of Memorial Park and head another two blocks…you should find your way to the main…"

**SWOOSH! **A split second later…the martial artist was gone. Kei was rendered speechless, it was as if he materialized into wind and stormed for the destination.

Blanc staggered under her breath, various possibilities running within her thoughts, "….is this guy even human?!"

* * *

Over at the southern exit gate of the capital…dozens of Lastation Defense Force officers placed barricades around the area of hazard where people from the other side oversaw the massive wolf-like beast that was being pinned down by the authorities.

Several more officers of the Lastation Guard drew out guns loaded with tranquilizers in an attempt to make the beast fall into a deep slumber. In the end, their efforts proved worthless as it only roared, shaking off any chain or wire that had been tied around his legs as an attempt to slow him down.

The situation became even more dire…as the Fenrir's eyes became red in fury…assuming a position that meant that he was ready to pounce on the local authorities and turn them into its dinner.

A Lastation military commander locked and loaded his heavy duty rifle and roared out a command, "Fire at will! Use any means to slow this son of a bitch down!"

His firing squad unleashed an unholy flurry of bullets at the maddened Fenrir but again, to no avail. It only made the beast even angrier. The Fenrir let out a single roar and in an instant, a massive icicle spear rained down on the group of Lastation Defense Force officers.

The rest of the group had all but scattered…save a poor soul who was now sitting on his bottom with a sprained ankle. The gigantic Fenrir gazed at its helpless victim, read to tear him into evening supper. As the beast raised its claws and prepared to finish its pray off, the soldier screamed, "GYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

**SMASH! **Seconds later, the soldier slowly opened his eyes, wondering as to whether or not he was in Heaven. He wasn't anywhere near Heaven or Hell for that matter. Instead, he bore witness to a certain raven-haired martial artist who had his arm outstretched and his fists countering the Fenrir's massive claws with little to no difficulty. Seconds after, Ranma unleashed a ki shockwave which sent the Fenrir tumbling back several meters and he made another martial artist stance. He closed his eyes and let the ki flow into his body that very second. He calmly kept his cool and prepared for a final attack. The Fenrir growled once more and assumed a pre-pounce position.

"I'm not the same reckless martial artist on the day he left his town," he thought to himself, "Maybe some things don't easily change…but I'm certainly not the person I was 5 years ago!"

The Fenrir pounced at great heights and readied its claws to slice its victim into tiny bit sized pieces. **BAM. **Instead of finishing its opponent off…the Fenrir croaked in pain…seconds passed and it found itself flying at massive speeds into the air…eventually falling towards an uninhabited empty lot in the forest, miles away from the capital.

The crowd was in utter awe as they witnessed Ranma remaining in a roundhouse kick position. It's as if he had saved all of his energy for that one single kick: that one single and decisive blow that settled this incident. He stood up straight again and exhaled, "Damn. I haven't gotten into a fight like this in weeks…well, that's all settled. Gotta head back to the concert!"

**SWOOSH! **Once more, Ranma had disappeared like a gust of wind as he sped back for Memorial Park to catch the idol's concert in time. Among the crowd, Kei Jinguji's eyes widened like sauce pans…and her mouth dropped agape as if she had witnessed Old Saint Nick himself. She muttered, "…what in god's name is this man…"

* * *

"Ranma!" Cave called out as the martial artist swiftly returned to the VIP seating. "I heard everything from an operative of mine down at the southern gate…y-you really…"

Ranma cracked his fists, sweating in exhaustion, "Tch…wasn't anything special…damn…I've gotten a bit sloppy this week…I need to remind myself to add training supplements tomorrow…"

Neptune gave the martial artist a compliment, "I have no idea what went down with you and that wolf but if what they're saying is true…neeto, that sounds awesome!"

"Mr. Ranma…really defeated the Fenrir?" Nepgear gasped. She approached him in order to make sure he had no serious injuries. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you? If you feel like something hurts, just talk to Compa, she'll…"

"I said it's no big deal…what matters is this incident didn't turn into a mass panic…now people can enjoy the concert in peace…hey, where's Blanc?"

Ram spoke, "She left the seating area shortly after you did but she hasn't come back since…I think she's talking about grown-up stuff with Noire…"

Their conversation was eventually interrupted…as the spotlights around the circular stage, the lamp posts and any additional lights from buildings within the park shut down which left only the glow sticks held by the crowds as sources of light. A booming voice from the intercom revealed an announcement.

**[LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. BOYS AND GIRLS. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE. 5PB'S LASTATION ALL STARS FANTASIA IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. PLEASE, ENJOY THE SHOW!]**

Slowly…music began to blare from the speakers…and the crowd's attention was directed at a Lastation helicopter flying down from the stage which then dropped a rope ladder. In the next second, fiery sparks roared from the stage to create a flashy lightning to reveal the idol, 5pb, holding on to the helicopter's rope ladder as the spotlights began to rapidly change colors. The crowd went mad with enthusiasm and thrill. **[5PB! 5PB! 5PB! 5PB!]**

Ranma was left almost speechless as the idol dropped down from the rope ladder and made her grandiose entrance. It was almost like she was a different person. Lyrica, now on stage as 5pb, Lastation's Star Idol, roared out, "Thank you so much for coming tonight, Lastation City!"

Further cheers responded to her enthusiastic greeting. **[5PB YOU'RE SO DELICIOUS!] [5PB, PLEASE MARRY MEEEEEEEE!] [HELL YEAH, 5PB! HELL YEAH!]**

5pb walked around the stage and then raised her right arm up and shouted, "You all ready to have the grandest time of your lives!" An even louder cheer followed. She continued, "AWESOME! That's what I wanna hear because we're sure as hell going to have the grandest time of our lives…TONIGHT!"

The spotlights immediately changed colors and music blared out once more…It was 5pb's turn to act. She drew her mike out and began the festivities.

_**Hikare! Yume no hoshi (mitsukedasou!) Oubaarimitto!**_

_**Genkai nante koete ku yo kitto!**_

_**Darenimo makenaikara!**_

The crowds went wild once more and the stunning idol of Leanbox continued to sing her heart out.

Ranma stammered, "It feels like she's a different person on stage…she puts so much emotion into that one song…"

Cave whispered to the martial artist in order to avoid disturbing the others. "Indeed…That's 5pb's ability. Her songs harnesses power that is drawn from the bonds she makes with the people she cherishes…and I have a feeling that you're no exception."

"….you think…?" Ranma questioned. For now, all he did was let himself rest and enjoy the rest of the show. He had a boring day, had to deal with a Fenrir and make it back to the concert on time without causing a public panic but in the end…he felt that this day was worthwhile. He only had one question in mind: Just where did Blanc run off to…and just who was the mysterious Goddess of Leanbox…?

_**Act VI – Fin.**_

* * *

**Ranma: **You're serious?! So none of the nations here have any answers as to how I can find a way home?!

**Kei: **You're stuck here for the time being, I regret to inform you.

**Noire: **Your handling of that Fenrir is above that of an average human's capabilities…perhaps you'll make good use of your abilities serving me.

**Blanc: **Bullshit. I discussed this with Mina on the phone last night. If we can't find a way home for you, you'll make good use serving my nation.

**Vert: **So, you must be Ranma. 5pb seems fond of you and Cave doesn't seem to suspect you. You'd be better off living in my nation!

**Ranma: **All of you are already deciding my fate in this world?! You have to be kidding me.

_**Next Time: Act VII – Ranma's Decisive Choice.**_

**Author's Notes**

-What do you know? I managed to update once more. Without taking a few months to do so.

-As response to a few reviews I've had…no, I'm not going to make this story harem in the sense that every character is going to fall in love with him. I'm still contemplating on pairings but Noire is a potential candidate. At max, only 2 or 3 characters are going to end up falling in love with our martial artist protagonist. I don't want to turn it into a story where every girl from the game is head over heels in love with him for no reason. The Hyperdimension Neptunia series in general is envisioned by its producer, Mizuno Naoko of Compile Heart, as a story that she feels where girls can just have fun together and form bonds. This is one of the reasons why the original games, the mangas and the ongoing anime (except Neptunia PP for the Vita) don't have any significant male protagonists or characters, because they play little to no role in the game's universes. The strong point of this series is all about the bonds characters forge with each other without making it look like a harem story.

-In relation to the second point, some are probably going to ask, "Why did you make a Ranma x Neptunia crossover"? I was bored. Simple as that. That and Ranma's one of my favorite childhood shonen protagonists. I just thought it'd be fun to see how he'd make his way around a chaotic environment like Gamindustri and how he would interact with most of the cast.

-For fans of the original game who are worried…don't fret. I'm still doing my best to include bonding scenes between the characters from the original game. Noire/Uni's sisterly bond in this chapter is one example alongside Compa and IF's close friendship. Not to mention Cave/5pb.

-Yes, that was a Rocket Power reference that Neptune pulled off.

-The song which 5pb was singing at the end of this chapter was the opening of Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 which was sung by the J-Pop artist "nao", who voices 5pb in the games.

-Next chapter will focus on how Ranma deals with the fact that he may no longer be able to go back home…and as to which nation he will move to. Will it be Planeptune, Leanbox, Lowee or Lastation? Find out soon!


End file.
